Eight Initials
by kusowatashiainingen
Summary: a girl from dallas finds herself involved in a harmless game that wind her up on a plane to japan and staying with a familiar family. Is that Sensui and a cat demon girl? Who knew writing down eight sets of initials could be so life changing?
1. Mysterious games and first encounters

Summary: a girl from Dallas, Texas encounters an unknown booth in a popular theme park during a school event. For the fun of it, she goes through with the stranger's little game. One week later, she wakes up and finds herself on a plane and landing in Japan as a foreign exchange student and staying with a familiar family. Who knew writing down eight sets of initials would be so life changing?

Eight Initials Chapter 1

"Come on Nicky! I wanna get to the rides before the lines get too long," a long, brown-haired girl shouts out as she waits for the black-haired girl to catch up.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Why do you have to walk so fast, Ashley?" The ebony-haired girl, Nicky, pants out as she trudges up the hill to the entrance of the large theme park with a large group of students who were lucky enough to go here instead of class.

"Sorry. It's not my fault my legs have a default of power walk. Come on, let's go so we can dump some of our stuff in a locker before they're all taken," the brunette known as you apologizes when Nicky catches up. They continue up to the entrance and show their season passes as they go through. They get their bags cleared and put away in a locker before heading over to their first stop.

"Excuse me ladies, would you be interested in playing my game?" you two hear and look over to see a young man in a booth motioning for them to come over.

"I guess, depends on what the game is…And how much," You shrug as you walk over to him.

"As my first customers for the day, I'll let you play for free. The rules for my game are simple. All you have to do is write down the initials of your four favorite males and four favorite females of any TV series of your choosing that contains a school on these papers, along with your first name and last initial and the first letter of each word in the series title. It doesn't matter if the series airs anymore, as long as it was once on TV in any country or language you want. You will keep one of the sheets and I will keep the other sheet. One week from now, you will find yourself as an exchange student and staying with one of the characters from that series, no worries about misunderstanding them as you will be able to understand them and know how to talk and read their language as if it were your native language. Now…Would you like to play?" The man asks again.

"What should I do if one of the characters have secret identities and thus two names or don't have last names?" You question the man.

"Simply put the first name as what they go by for their secret identity and the last name as the one they were born with. Then just put one letter for those with no known last name or place the first letter of any title they may possess as the first initial," the man explains

"Why Not? After all, what harm could it do? What about you Nicky?" You comply and take a pen and paper to jot down your name.

"No thanks. It's not really my thing and couldn't really happen anyways," Nicky refuses.

"Suit yourself," You shrug and jots down the letters: HJ, KM, YU, KK, Y, LM, MG, SK, and YYHGF. You then rip off one of the colorful sheets and hand the man his pen and sheet, stuffing the other in your pocket.

"I thank you miss. Have a nice day," the man compliments and smiles at you as you walk towards the ride you were previously headed for. The two of you continued your day of fun as if it didn't happen and soon return home when school was nearing an end.

…One week later-Friday night…

You logged off and shut down your computer as you took a big yawn. Today had been a long and uneventful day filled with the usual weekly grocery shopping, TV, computer surfing, and calculating everyone's fitness age on the new Wii you'd recently gotten for Christmas. You climbed to the upper bunk of your bed, too tired to change into pajamas, and turned on your mp3 to get some rest. Something told you tomorrow was gonna be different and something big was gonna happen, so you needed to be well rested.

…The next morning…

You woke up to the sound of some unknown noise, and the loss of noise from your music. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and tried to regain focus on your surroundings. Even blurry eyed as you were, you knew that you were not in your room. For one, you were in an uncomfortably plush chair with your head leaning on something cold, like glass. You knew this for your butt was sore as if you'd been sitting on it for hours and your neck and one spot of your head were uncomfortably positioned to your right like you would do to try to lean on a window and rest in a car. Second, the colors around you were more of an off white with blobs of random colors, as opposed to the lavender shade of your bedroom walls with blobs of color to represent your cluttered yellow dresser, wooden door, and 20" television.

As soon as you could see clearly, you looked around to see a large amount of the same chairs in rows of twelve, neatly divided into three columns of three, six, then three chairs to form aisles to walk through, similar to what the inside of a plane would look like in a movie. You mainly referred to a movie due to never actually being on a plane. You looked to your right to see that you were leaning on a window and looked out of it to see a blue sky with clouds and the wing of the plane in your sight. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion as you put on your glasses and gently tapped the shoulder of the person next to you who appeared to be eating some breakfast. The man who appeared to be in his thirties turned to you and swallowed his food while you shyly asked what the loud speaker had announced, realizing that was what woke you.

"Oh, it just said we'd be landing in the Tokyo airport soon. I think about 10 or 20 minutes," the man informed you kindly. You thanked him and grabbed your red purse from the floor between your legs. You shuffle through it and find three papers that catch your eye. One you recognize as the sheet you kept from the man at the theme park last week while the other two were a map of Japan, specifically Tokyo, and an envelope you don't recognize. You remove the two sheets inside the envelope and read over the letter written on one of the sheets.

'_To Ashley Silica,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as the international exchange student and will be attending Meiou High School for the remainder of your high school education while staying with a volunteer family enrolled in that school. They will meet you at the airport with a sign carrying your name. This envelope also contains a copy of your schedule as well as a plane ticket. Your uniform will have been sent to the family before your arrival. We hope to see you in school as soon as possible, and trust your journey to be a safe one._

_Sincerely,_

_The American and Japanese educational boards'_

'A-Are you saying that what that man said actually worked?! T-Then, does that mean I'll be living with the Minamino family?! I did put Kurama's initials with his human last name…-sigh- I guess I'll find out soon enough…At least I now know I don't get air sick,' You thought upon finishing the letter. You placed the letter back in the envelope and looked over your schedule a few times, trying to memorize what classes you would be taking while pronouncing and storing away how to state the teachers' names in your mind and their location. 'That's weird, only two room numbers. Oh, that's right. The teachers move around from class to class. We only move to go to gym. That's why the only lockers seen in anime are the shoe lockers and gym lockers,' you think. You nearly groaned when you saw that you were going to be taking P.E. almost immediately after lunch. 'Great, now there's even more reason for my metabolism to speed up more that it already goes, and more reason to eat more food and be falsely accused of being physically fit,' you thought sourly, placing the schedule back in your purse. You picked up your mp3 that lie in your lap and placed it in your purse as well before zipping it closed.

Soon after, the intercom comes on and tells everyone to put on their seat belts and turn off any electronic devices so they could land. You made sure your phone was off and pulled on your seat belt. Not too long, you felt the direction change as you got the slight sinking feeling one gets when going down. When the plane landed, you grabbed your purse and pillow and looked on the racks to see if you had any bags up there and grabbed them before getting off.

You looked around yourself in the airport as you dragged all your stuff behind you. Surprisingly, it was only two suitcases, your purse, and your large, blue backpack that you'd used for school back home. you examined the crowd around you as you walked towards the exits slowly, searching for some sign of Kurama's bright red hair. You soon found it and saw him holding a sign with your name on it and standing with his mother, stepfather, and stepbrother. You grinned when you saw them and headed in their direction quickly.

"Excuse me, My name's Silica Ashley. Are you the family I'll be staying with?" you ask them hesitantly as you try out the new language that seemed to come to you as easily as English.

"Yes of course. It's nice to finally meet you dear. My name's Minamino, Shiori, but you can just call me Shiori," Kurama's mother introduces and bows politely. You bow to each family member in turn as they all bow back at you, introducing themselves. Kurama and his little brother offer to take your bags and you thank them while handing the two suitcases to them, giving the lighter one to Shuuichi.

"Man, this thing isn't even that heavy. What do you just have some tank tops and shorts in here? I know you're from a warm state but doesn't it ever get cold there?" Shuuichi asks as everyone walked towards the car.

"Of course it does. I don't usually wear shorts. I think that one's filled with all my clothes while the rest of my things are in the other one and my backpack. Maybe you're stronger than you think Shuuichi-chan," You explain to him.

"Why do you have so few clothes? I would have thought both were filled with them, or at least one and half of another," Kurama questions.

"I figure, if I'm gonna be staying here for a year or two, I'll just bring some clothes to remind me of home, but enough to last for a while before I run out, and I'll just use what money I have to buy some clothes from here. Gets me souvenirs and helps with me fitting in better while I stay here instead of sticking out like a 2-by-4 in a crystal figurine shop," You shrug and puts your backpack in the trunk of the car.

"I don't think I've ever heard a comparison like that before. Why did you compare yourself to a piece of wood, I wonder?" Kurama comments as everyone slips in the car, you in the middle back seat, and his stepfather starts it up.

"I dunno, really. It just came to my mind and I didn't feel like using the phrase sticking out like a sore thumb. I'm not really hurting in any way. I just feel awkward and a little uncomfortable being in a different country, especially without my family or friend's back home in Texas. Plus, I just had my first flight on an airplane. No telling what my brain's gonna be like after that," You continue to explain.

"You still shouldn't label yourself as a piece of wood dear. It doesn't suit someone who looks as nice as you," Shiori scolds lightly.

"Thanks, Shiori-san. I guess I just don't feel as elegant as all the beautiful sceneries and creations that are here in Japan. Here you have Sakura trees abundant, back home some of the more beautiful wide scattered plants are the state flower bluebonnets that are against the law to pick," You thank slightly embarrassed.

"Hey Silica-san, what's it like back where you're from? What kind of foods do you have?" Shuuichi asks enthusiastically.

"Shuuichi, you should show that much enthusiasm and interest in your school work," Kurama suggests brotherly. You laugh softly at Shuuichi's pouting face.

"It depends Shuuichi-chan. We have a wide variety of foods. I don't want to end up offending you by accident so could you tell me if you are herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore?" You ask him slyly. Shuuichi stares at you questioningly open-mouthed as you hear a small chuckle to your other side. You turn to see Kurama hiding a smile with his hands and his shoulders shaking slightly. "What's so funny Shuuichi-kun?" You ask him, still smiling.

"Nothing, I just thought it was quite clever how you slipped in that science question in your conversation with my little brother, though I'm not sure if he's learned about those in school yet," Kurama comments.

"We haven't. They said we're supposed to learn about something called food chains, energy pyramids and food webs next week," Shuuichi pouts, looking out the window as the car pulls up into the driveway.

"Then you should learn what those three terms are any day as long as you pay attention in class. I'm not going to tell you about the different foods until you can answer my question and I suggest you be sure about it before you tell me. Oh, and you guys can just call my Ashley. It feels a little weird if someone calls me by my last name other than a teacher or administrator," You inform him as you follow Kurama out of the car and to the trunk.

"Ashley-san, I almost forgot, you're uniform came in the mail a few days ago but we're not sure if it'll fit you. If you like you can try it on and if it doesn't fit, then tomorrow we can have it tailored and maybe buy you some new clothes like you suggested earlier," Shiori informed you.

"Sure that'd be great Shiori-san," you agree and sling your backpack over your shoulders.

"Would you like some help settling in Ashley-san?" Kurama offers and grabs your suitcases.

"Thank you so much. You don't have to if you don't want to Shuuichi-san," You accept, following him to your room. When you two reached your room, you looked around to see that it was quite large and had a bed with a night stand, a desk with a chair and a computer, a dresser with a mirror, and a bookshelf along with two doors on one wall and a window above the desk. All in all, it was nice, simple, and just needed some things to show it was now inhabited.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Kurama suggests and lays your suitcases on your new bed.

"Sure, but just one thing. Where's the bathroom before we start?" You ask and set your backpack and purse down beside the bed.

"Of course. Mother thought you should have some privacy so she gave you the guest room with it's own bathroom. It'll be that door on the right, the left one's your closet. I'll see if I can't get us some snacks while you're in there," Kurama points out and heads downstairs to the kitchen after you thank him again. While in the bathroom, you try getting over your shock so you don't do anything drastic and embarrassing that could give away your knowledge of his secret.

As this goes on, you just stand there in silence for a while until you hear Kurama come back in your room and say muffled, "Hello Hiei. To what do I owe this visit?" You jerk your head up and walk closer to the door, listening intensively.

"Hn. I thought I'd warn you that Yusuke and the two idiots are planning on making a visit today along with Yukina. Also, I sensed an unknown spirit energy in your house…Another of your human family members staying here fox?" Hiei informs indifferently.

"Actually, it appears I'll be having an exchange student staying here until she finishes high school. A girl from Texas by the name of Silica, Ashley will be staying in here so I would appreciate it if you told the others to remember to call me Shuuichi. I don't know much about this girl but she's quite bright and I don't want her catching any slip-ups. The same goes for you too, Hiei. I expect you'll be coming with them as well and I would prefer you didn't call me fox around them," Kurama informs calmly. Hiei replies with his monosyllable before you hear a very soft click that was probably from your window.

You wait a minute to soak in what just transpired and not cause suspicion before flushing the toilet and walking out of the bathroom. You see Kurama sitting in your desk chair with a plate of rice balls sitting on the desk next to him. You grab one of them and plug in your mp3 to the computer speakers as you both head over to your things. You open up the smaller one that you had Shuuichi carry to the car and see all your pants, with a couple of black pants you wore for school that looked more like regular pants, lots of your shirts both new, unrecognizable and old, familiar ones, and your pajamas and undergarments/swimsuits partially hidden under the rest of your clothes and socks.

"You call this some clothes to remind you of home?" Kurama asks amusedly.

"Yeah. You just be glad it doesn't take up five suitcases and five more of whatever junk I threw in the other one. My family are all pack rats and I'm no exception," you retort and bring it over to the dresser. You quickly shove your underwear in a small drawer and your socks in another as Kurama joins you. You both quickly get your clothes put away as the songs change from 'Legend of Mermaid' to 'Let it Die.' You close the suitcase and stash it under your bed while Kurama opens the other suitcase.

"Hm? What's this, Ashley-san?" Kurama asks you, motioning towards the square, limp package on top of everything. You grab the wrapping paper and unfold it carefully. You show Kurama the smooth red and white fabric with a smile on your face.

"It's just a cheap Kimono I bought with my allowance some time ago. I mean, the obi itself is Velcro," You explain simply and fold the paper back up neatly, lying it down on your bed. Inside the suitcase were mainly boxes, books, and plastic bags from the store to make sure all your things didn't break. You took out what few pillows you had and remove them from the vacuum-sealed bag, tossing them on your bed. You two then started unpacking your dragon wind-chime and statues when Shuuichi came in.

"Shuu-nii, some of your friends are here," he informs.

"Alright. Tell them I'll be down in a second will you?" Kurama requests. Shuuichi nods and heads back downstairs.

"I didn't know you had friends coming over," You lie, looking at him with fake curiosity.

"Yes well, I just got a call saying they might drop by today when I got a snack. I guess with all the unpacking, I forgot to mention it. I'll go down and explain to them that you're here and why before I introduce you to them. I'll be back up in a bit," Kurama explains and heads out.

"Fine by me. I'll just start decorating with my statues and see where some posters can go," You wave away as he leaves your sight. You place all of the books in the suitcase on the empty bookshelf. You then grab a few of the statuettes the two of you unwrapped and place your dragon statue/lamp on the nightstand before heading over to your dresser to start arranging them. As you're doing so, the song changes over to 'Life is like a boat' and you start singing with it as you place a few small statues on your desk's elevated shelves, your back facing the door.

As you sing the last note, you turn around with your large black pillow in your hands to fluff up, a gentle smile on your face. When you open your eyes after finishing the song, you see Kurama standing by the door with Yusuke, Botan, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yukina. They all start clapping, minus Hiei who just stands there and Yusuke who whistles and cheers a bit, while you hide your face in the big pillow you held.

"Shuuichi!! How could you?! Why didn't you tell me you guys were there?! How much did you hear?!" You shout angrily once you show your face to them again.

"I'm sorry Ashley-san. I didn't want to interrupt you. You seemed to be enjoying yourself and sang quite well I might add," Kurama apologizes amusedly while trying to hide his smile and amusement at my reaction behind his hand and failing.

"Hardy har, har. My reactions are gonna be your new personal entertainment during my stay here now, aren't they?" you question a tad sourly. Kurama shrugs with his cute and innocent 'I don't know what you're talking about' look. You wave it off and continue, "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends K-Shuuichi?" You mentally curse yourself for your stupidity, almost slipping and referring to him as Kurama. You glance at his reaction then the others' quickly while not causing suspicion. You almost sigh when you take note that none of them seemed to notice, but kept your face in a curious gaze towards them, as far as you knew, Hiei **and** Kurama still could have noticed.

"Yes, of course. Ashley-san, I'd like for you to meet my friends Urameshi Yusuke, Kuwabara Kazuma, Botan, Yukina, and Hiei. Everyone, I'd like for you all to meet my new guest, Silica Ashley," Kurama introduces, gesturing to each person in turn. I bow politely and greet them, Yukina and Botan following the gesture while Yusuke and Kuwabara wave and Hiei just uses his monosyllable.

"Come on shrimp! Is that all you have to say?! You could at least show Silica-san some respect," Kuwabara shouts at Hiei. Hiei merely sneers at him and replies with his monosyllable again.

"Speaking of which, Ku-Shuuichi, you never said this foreign exchange student was gonna be a cute nerd like her," Yusuke complains to Kurama.

"Hm. Not sure whether that's a compliment or and insult…Oh, well. You called me a nerd so I'll take it as a compliment," you say thoughtfully.

"Why would you take being called a nerd as a compliment instead of an insult?" Yusuke asks you confused.

"I'd rather be known for what little talents I possess instead of what I look like. I don't really make a big fuss about my appearance or what others think of me," you explain nonchalantly, pausing your mp3.

"What do you mean 'what little talents' you have? You're really intelligent, enough so to be able to go to Shuuichi's school. You can sing, you're beautiful, and I'm sure there are more talents you have too," Botan praises in protest.

"This is all true to some extent, but there are so many things I can't do that matter more in this world. And while I do have brains, a voice, drawing skills, and a little bit of writing skills, I'm not elegant, I can't dance worth anything, and I have no money or means to protect myself. Seeing as I don't know martial arts, I can't possess a gun here and I'm not an ace shooter anyways, and I don't even have a simple pocket knife or bottle of mace or pepper spray. Not to mention, I'm just a rather weak human. I don't have any super or demonic powers and I've never encountered anything radioactive other than the everyday cell phone. Lord, take mercy on all who receive brain cancer from such and end their lives and suffering quickly," You continue to explain as if it were as clear as day with no detectable emotion in your voice, pushing your glasses up in the classic nerd fashion.

"Hn. The onna has a point. She wouldn't last ten minutes before she became food or a toy to someone over there. She's even weaker than the buffoon over here," Hiei agrees, gesturing to Kuwabara on the last bit.

"What did you just say shrimp?! I'll show you weak!" Kuwabara threatens angrily and grabs the collar of Hiei's cloak and scarf.

"Guys, Guys!…," You shout to get their attention. They ignore you as they continue to argue. "CHILDREN!! Stop before you take this too far! I will not allow you to fight in my room, much less the residence of this family! If you wish to fight each other so badly, then go down the street and fight, but you're not doing so here! I may be weak, but I can use force to stop you if necessary!" You shout at them, getting everyone's attention. You weren't really ever one to be loud, but if you were pissed off enough, you could be. They just happened to be irritating you enough for you to be somewhat louder than normal right now.

"And how exactly would you go about doing that onna?" Hiei questions mockingly. Knowing you wouldn't stand a chance against him in an actual fight.

"I know plenty of ways using pressure points and such. I may not be able to knock someone unconscious by simply adding pressure to one, but I can at least stop Kuwabara-san from trying to hit you. More or less, I can cause pain to someone so that they are distracted by the sudden wave, and thus no longer thinking about what they were doing or going to do beforehand for a few seconds," You explain.

"Why me?" Kuwabara asks dejectedly.

"Simply because I can tell that he would be more guarded, thus, harder to deal with. Plus, you were the one that was showing signs of violent actions. Hiei-san, more or less looked like he was merely trying to state 'truths' to mess with your head, and was being quite successful with it as well," You tell him simply, using air quotations for "truths."

"-Cough- Ashley-san, perhaps you should try on your uniform to make sure it fits. Mother mentioned that it would be a good idea if you tried it on now so she knew what she needed to get done tomorrow," Kurama intervenes.

"Oh, um, right. I'll go do that. If you guys want, you can just hang out here or whatever. I'll be out in a little bit. Oh! Botan-san, Yukina-san, could one of you help me tell if this uniform fits properly?" you ask a little embarrassed.

"Of course. Just go put it on and come back out here. We'll help you out, no problem," Botan complies cheerfully as you head into the bathroom after grabbing something from your drawers.

"Thanks you guys," you thank and close the door to change. When you come out, you're wearing the red sailor suit top with the knee-length, pleated skirt and knee high socks.

"Oh, Silica-san you look gorgeous in that. You look so much more beautiful in a skirt or a dress than in those pants. And you've got a wonderful pair of legs that flatter you," Botan compliments endlessly as you just stand there with your hands clasped behind your back.

"Um…thanks?" You reply confused and embarrassed. You notice the guys had left and thank that they hadn't seen your current disposition.

"You do look quite nice Silica-san. And it looks like it all fits you ok. Does it feel fine?" Yukina asks, more attention on what they had originally been asked to do while still slipping in the compliment.

"You guys can just call me Ashley. And I think it's ok, except I think I might get the sleeves a little longer and make the shirt long enough to tuck in where it stays in while my arms are up, I don't really like it when my stomach shows. Maybe I'll get the skirt a couple inches longer too," you input as you examine yourself.

"Oh, S-Ashley-san, I noticed you got something out of your dresser. What was it exactly?" Botan questions, returning back to reality finally.


	2. Dinner and questions with the gang

Chapter 2

"Oh, S-Ashley-san, I noticed you got something out of your dresser. What was it exactly?" Botan questions, returning back to reality finally.

"Oh, Nothing much. Just thought I'd put on some shorts underneath to feel more comfortable. I'm used to pants and shorts and this way the boys can't be successful perverts on me," You explain, pulling up your skirt to reveal the slightly loose, red, mid-thigh length, shorts underneath. You head back into the bathroom just as the boys were coming back in.

"Man, and we almost saw her too. I wanted to see what she looked like in that skirt," you hear Yusuke comment pervertedly through the door as you change. You then almost fall over as you remove your shorts when you hear Yusuke shout in pain loudly, soon followed by him questioning Botan why she hit him. You roll your eyes amused, already picturing Botan smack Yusuke with her oar.

"You jerk! Try and show Ashley-san a little more respect Yusuke! She just got here and doesn't need your perverted behavior scaring her! She's already taking precautions for any perverts that might be at the school!" Botan shouts at him and you faintly hear Kuwabara snickering in the background. You finish dressing and walk back out to see everyone just lounging around with Kurama in your desk chair, Hiei leaning against the wall by your bed, and the other four taking up position on your bed while your suitcase now lay on the floor. You almost crack up laughing when you notice the large red lump on Yusuke's head, indicating where Botan hit him. You had to cover your mouth with one hand and hold your side with your other hand while holding your breath to keep from bursting.

"Y-Yusuke-san, what exactly did you do while I was in the bathroom that made Botan-san hit you?" You choke out, still attempting to take deep even breaths so you didn't laugh.

"How the hell should I know? All I did was mention how I wanted to see what you looked like in the uniform. Next thing I know I get whacked in the head by a blue haired harpy," Yusuke shouts out, a vein pulsing visibly on his temple, making you laugh more at the "realization" of what transpired, just the way he explained it was funny.

"You heard that?" Botan asks slightly embarrassed, pink tinting her cheeks.

"Kind of. I heard Yusuke scream out and your reply. I didn't hear what he said or did before that," You lie again. You then continue, "I'm glad you can actually cause physical damage to a few juvenile delinquents. Some of my favorite female anime characters are strong like that except with inhuman abilities. I even have a couple songs about it. You guys wanna hear one?" You question as you head back over to your mp3 player. The others sound their agreement, or unconcern in Hiei's case, as you turn it to Vanessa Hudgens' " Never Underestimate a Girl." Just out of boredom, you decide to sing along with it, closing your eyes once again as you often do that to picture a sort of AMV you make up or remember.

You hadn't noticed that as you were singing the song, you began to dance with it as well. You could feel yourself smiling as you sang but thought that it was a gentle smile of content. You were completely unaware that you had actually walked up to someone as you sang, "She makes it look easy, in control completely." You didn't even feel anything happening when you leaned closer to them against a vertical flat surface and your content smile turned into a semi-seductive smirk, or that you had done the same thing every time it played that phrase along with other things.

As the song ended you sort of twirled back to where you were originally standing, still oblivious as to what you did or what went on around you, you opened your eyes to find everyone staring at you incredulously. The only exception was Hiei who was glaring quite hatefully at you. You then noticed Botan and Kuwabara blushing a little and turning white at the same time. Kurama gave a surprised look while Yukina was the only one who seemed to smile at you kindly, signaling that she liked your singing. All of this made you immensely confused. Was it the lyrics of the song that's making them react like this? Was it because of the fact that they didn't expect you to have anything like this from what they first heard you sing, or that you would even sing it?

"Um…What's wrong everyone? Did I sing it badly or take you by surprise with it or something?" You question them, genuinely curious and a little worried with how they weren't snapping out of it.

"Well, it certainly took us by surprise…None of us were expecting you to do anything like that a couple of minutes ago," Kurama states slowly as if trying to find the right words. You furrow your eyebrows in further confusion. What things had you done? Didn't you just stand there and sing a song? You could practically feel the uncomfortable and awkward tension in the room.

"What…things?" you mutter out slowly and a little unsurely.

"And you were worried about me corrupting her or influencing her, Botan," Yusuke tried muttering quietly to Botan who sat beside him. You blink, clearly having heard him when you suddenly become irritated at being left out of the loop that obviously involved you as the center topic.

"Ok. Can someone please explain what I did. I thought I was just singing here. Were you guys taken back from the lyrics of the song and what might have popped into your head or what? Well?" you continue to demand answers. What you said seemed to have jogged a couple of them enough to snap out of it and realize what was going on to some extent. Hiei merely intensified his glare on you before actually answering your questions with his own.

"What are you playing at onna? How can you not know what you just did? Are you really more oblivious than the fool over there?" he asked incredulously, angering and confusing you even more.

"I just might be, but we won't know for sure unless someone gives me some straight answers over here," you reply to him while trying to keep a calm and level voice and wondering why he didn't just search your mind for the truth.

"Ashley-san, you were dancing quite wonderfully, though I think Hiei-san might have been a bit uncomfortable with you touching him at a couple of parts," Yukina speaks up in an obliviously innocent compliment. Your anger dissipates as you looked at her, soaking in what she said.

'Wait, dance? Touching…Hiei?' you wonder mentally as an image popped in your head of you walking up to Hiei while singing, leaning towards him with your hand against the wall by his head and your other hand cupping his cheek while your smile turns into the semi-seductive smirk. You could practically see Hiei's discomfort and anger in this third person mental image. Your feel yourself go cold at the realization of what probably just transpired while you were in your own little world.

You see Hiei stand up straight and stride over to you threateningly. You knew from watching plenty of shows that the smaller the person, the more dangerous they were when pissed. You back up slowly and accidentally back into the doorknob of the bathroom, making you wince in pain slightly, before you are soon pressed up against the wall with Hiei only a foot or two away and glaring up at you.

"Tell me onna. What do you think gives you the nerve to try something like that with me? What makes you think I might even be in any way attracted to a childish and oblivious idiot such as yourself?" Hiei questions you in a way that states you better have a good answer if you wished to keep living.

"Hiei, calm down. She didn't know what she was doing," Kurama tries to reason.

"Are you really falling for her act too fox? Do you really believe that she wouldn't be able to know what her own body was doing?" Hiei questioned as his attention turned to the red head. Just in that instant, something seemed to have clicked in your mind at what might have caused you to do what you'd done and have you not know about it, considering you were normally a bit klutzy and a bad dancer to begin with.

"Wait a minute," you mutter quietly to yourself as your expression goes from one of anxiety and uncertain fear to that of deep concentration and Hiei's attention is turned back to you, a slightly curious and tense gaze in his eyes, wondering what you would do and if you'd caught his slip up. Kurama would definitely get on to him for allowing himself to do so, especially if you'd noticed.

"Kei, did you…take partial control?" you asked even quieter, hoping that Hiei didn't hear or understand you. Suddenly, your eyes of concentration and calculation widen at the answer you receive from one of the 'spirits' in your head. Your hands, which had gone up to your chin in deep thought, fell limply by your sides as you slid down the wood door until you were sitting. "Oh, dear god why? Why Kei?!" you shout with all eyes on you curious and confused as your arms regained life and shot up to grip your head.

A few seconds of silence followed before you shouted, "Fun?! What in the world gave you the idea that it would be fun?! I could have been killed or mauled or worse! I don't know what he might do!" A few more moments of silence with the gang becoming even more confused at your strange behavior. "Kei, I did not say mall! I said 'mauled' M-A-U-L-E-D!…A-you know what, forget it. J-Just, forget it and don't do it again. They probably already think I'm insane as it is what with the whole 'talking to no one' thing Besides, you know Kureno will kill you if you try anything like that again…Yeah I guess you're right Rei. I guess I technically am talking to myself in a way. Whatever," you shout out as you calm down and end your 'conversation' with a shrug and take off your glasses to rub the bridge of your nose before placing them back on and looking up at the others on the opposite side of the room before looking at Hiei's expression. His glare disappeared and he now looked indifferent and unexpressive as he walked back to where he stood before.

'Probably heard me and looked to see what my mind's eye could see.' You think slightly bitter as you stand back up. "Um…sorry about that. You all probably think I'm crazy now, don't you?" you finally ask them while rubbing the back of your head nervously.

"Only a little bit. I haven't seen anything weird like that happen since the Toguro brothers, and you still topped that on the weirdo scale," Yusuke says trying to lighten the mood and smiling. You smile as well and laugh a little. You just barely noticed that Kurama and Botan looked at Yusuke pointedly for mentioning Toguro.

"Well, let's just say I'm very unique, though I'm not really sure how weird that really is since I don't really know who this Toguro person is or how weird they are," You reply to his comment. 'I wonder, does that mean I came in during that month before the other three and Sensui? Because he had a similar occurrence like mine and Yusuke didn't mention that. Must mean he's still fully human too," you ponder over Yusuke's remark.

"Well then, perhaps we may tell you that story another time. Why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Kurama suggests absentmindedly to try changing subjects.

"Well, what do you want to know?" you ask to play along, not really caring.

"How about what's your favorite animal?" Kuwabara asks. You blink at him before closing your eyes and thinking.

"Hm…I don't really have a favorite animal, but the ones that I like the most would probably have to be the wolf, fox, and monkey. Though I like just about all animals in general," you trail off, concentrating.

"Really? Why?" Yukina asks interested. You look at her, breaking your concentration, and scratch your head.

"I dunno. I guess I'm more of the type who likes natural beauty instead of man-made things. I'd rather just relax in the middle of the forest with a small creature, even if it's just a small rodent or insect, instead of going to the mall, spa, or skating rink or something," You shrug, not sure as to how to explain it.

"Ok then, what's your favorite mystic creature?" Yusuke asks next.

"Oh, that's a definite tie between the dragon and the phoenix. I don't have a favorite dragon species but in general, it's those two," you answer immediately.

"What makes them so special?" Kuwabara asks in a sort of pout.

"Hm…Well for one, the phoenix is known as the bird of rebirth and as such, dies in a burst of flames before being reborn from it's own ashes. Its tears can be used to heal just about any wound, and because of its constant cycle of rebirth it is quite knowledgeable and loyal. Not to mention that it's a beautiful and elegant creature of fire and represents the soul and natural balance if one looks closely," you explain to them in a slight endearing sort of way while making hand gestures to try and emphasize your point.

"And the dragon?" Botan persists.

"The dragons are hard to explain. There are so many different types that I can't just give a set of endearing attributes like with the phoenix because nothing is the same with every species. The Chinese lung is probably one of the most knowledgeable and oldest dragon races and the main difference you can tell between the eastern dragons are the number of claws on their feet and the fact that the Yong and Ryu only stay in their respective countries. None of them have wings and all three of them live in aquatic environments most of their lives. Then you have Wyverns, dwarf dragons, Frost dragons, Knuckers, American and Mexican Amphitheres, Lindworms, Marsupial dragons, European Dragons, Tibetan dragons, and so many others. Some are friendly and kind towards humans, while others will have no quarrels with them but will still eat them should one be spotted while they're hungry such as with the Amphitheres and Japanese Ryu. It's not really something one can explain easily, though I don't particularly enjoy how many films have tried to capture the true nature of dragons," you rant off in explanation.

"So basically you like things that deal with fire," Yusuke summarizes.

"Not really. Most dragons don't breathe fire and a phoenix is more or less associated with all the elements. People just generally group them together as creatures of fire," You correct.

"Ok, I have a question. Earlier you mentioned some names like Kei and Rei. Who are they exactly? What are they like?" Yukina asks a little shy.

"I guess you could say that they're a couple of my 'split personalities.' In a way it's like I have multiple people sharing my body. In a total counting myself I suppose there would be about…eight people's souls residing in this body. We all have names too of course. Let's see there's: me, Graystone, Keita, Kureno, Reina, Shima, and Toshi. What are Reina and Keita like? Keita's a lot like Botan-san in a way but has blonde hair and blue eyes while Reina is probably the mother wolf out of us in more ways than one. Toshi and Shima are the mischief-makers, Kureno is the violent, bloodthirsty one, Graystone's the silent one, and I'm a combination of everyone because they've influenced me so much. Kureno mainly influences me when I get really pissed and start cursing people out," you answer her question. When you look back from the ceiling to them, Kuwabara and Yusuke had gaping mouths while Botan was still expressing shock, Kurama seemed to be in deep thought, Hiei seemed indifferent still as if already knowing about it, and Yukina seemed satisfied that you answered her question.

"Hey, I was looking up something on the Internet once and I saw some sci-fi movie thing that was in America called… Waivern?…Wivern?" Kuwabara comments, trying to remember the strange, English name.

"Wyvern. I haven't seen the movie but I already know it's completely incorrect. Though it's probably a good thriller or horror movie in general. Its general information on Wyverns is all wrong," you explain to him.

"Why do you say that?" Botan asks.

"Well first off, Wyvern, live in Africa, not Alaska. They prefer the warm, sunny grasslands in the Savanna and the Sahara desert compared to the cloudy, cold weather of Alaska. Second, Wyvern, don't eat or even attack humans. They generally eat much larger things like hippos, rhinos, and elephants and are quite friendly towards humans though they are normally airborne due to their large feet making them clumsy on the ground. The dragon shown in the movie Wyvern is probably more of a closer relation to the Frost Dragon or one of its closer relatives, minus the breathing ice part," you elaborate more. Just then you all hear a knock at your door before it opened to show Shuuichi.

"Shuuichi-nii, Ashley-san, mother said it was time for dinner so you and your friends should come eat," Shuuichi relayed.

"Thank you Shuichi-chan. We'll be down in a minute," you inform him with a grin. He grins back and heads back downstairs. You stand up from off the ground by the bathroom door and say, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go eat." With that you head to the kitchen downstairs with the others following close behind.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair compared to what you expected it to be like. Shuuichi asked you some questions and tried to convince you to tell him about the food in Texas but you stood still about the whole science question. When the others asked about it, Kurama informed them of the event that occurred in the car. That's when conversation really started up.

"How do you expect the kid to know that? I don't even know that," Yusuke defends Shuuichi.

"Well, maybe if you had paid more attention in class instead of falling asleep so much you would know the answer," Botan scolds him in return.

"Yeah Urameshi. Even I've paid enough attention in class to know the answer to that, and Biology was my worst subject," Kuwabara agrees in a teasing manner.

"Well sorry if I'm not trying to get into a high school like you or Keiko. Since when do you pay that much attention in class anyway Kuwabara?" Yusuke retorts in a challenging sort of way that you knew all too well.

"What's that supposed to mean Urameshi?!" Kuwabara cries incredulously. You sigh in exasperation and realize Kurama did as well from right beside you. You look at him questioningly and ask, "They do this often?"

Kurama looks at you as you gesture towards Yusuke and Kuwabara's antics with your chopsticks. "Yes. It's sort of their way of having fun by challenging the other with various things like this and video games," Kurama explains. You nod slowly and look back over at them. Suddenly, something came to mind that caused you to grin broadly that you knew would make them stop fighting each other before they got rough.

"You know, those two kind of remind me of an old married couple you'd see in soap operas. Or a couple of teenagers flirting with each other," you comment loud enough so they could hear you but so it still seemed like you were thinking out loud. You ate some rice as you stared at the ceiling in thought when you noticed that is was silent. You looked around the table to see everyone staring at you, some with amusement and others in confusion.

"What? With your bickering, lots of Americans would think you two were possibly gay for each other, or at the very least close to one another like brothers or something," you blurt incredulously. Yusuke and Kuwabara both sit back down with a pout and you bite the inside of your cheek to retain your laughter and their childishness and remembering all those KUWAXYUS fan fictions you found during your hours of boredom.

"Yes well, regardless, we all need to be going now. After all we need to get some sleep so we can be well rested for school now, don't we? Thank you so much for the dinner Minamino-san," Botan excuses them and leads the five outside where they no doubt went their separate ways.

"So did you try on your school uniform Ashley-san?" Shiori asks after a bit of silence. You look up at her blinking and gulp down the bite you just took.

"Yeah, I did. It fit ok, but I think the shirt may need to be a little bigger and the skirt longer. They're a little small since my limbs are a little longer than most," you inform her shyly. She nods her understanding and tells you that the two of you could go get that done tomorrow during the grocery shopping. You thank her and excuse yourself from the table before rinsing off your dishes in the sink and bidding them all good night and heading up to your new bedroom.

You closed both of your now empty suitcases and slipped them under your bed, then grabbed your forgotten backpack and saw the remainder of your belongings including the rest of your books and all of your yyh things. (That wasn't exactly much though since yyh collectables were harder to come by than Naruto or Death Note) You place all of them on the bookshelf as well and hide all of your yyh books behind the others on the deep shelf. Fortunately, you could stack about 10 of them behind the other manga series', and all of your books filled up more than one shelf, so you were able to hide all of them securely without the need of reaching that ten-book height. You carefully removed one of the books and saw that they were still hidden quite well without suspicion.

Happy with this, you quickly grabbed your toiletries and other belongings from your backpack and put them in their respective places. You sighed sadly as you looked around your room and saw the great empty space still left on your shelves and the lack of your swords. 'If I just had those six blades then this room would be near perfect…I know! I'll see if I can buy some along with some stands. Then maybe I can mail them home a little before I have to leave along with some other things I get or something,' you think happily as you lean your backpack against the wall by your bed and lay down to get some much needed rest. You near instantly fall asleep, unaware of the eyes that watched you outside the window.


	3. shopping, secrets, and conversations

Chapter 3

The next morning you were awoken to the sound of your phone's alarm clock under your pillow around 6:00 a.m. You shut it off and stretched lazily before rubbing your eyes. You stop for a second and stare around the room before the events of yesterday came back to you.

"So I guess it wasn't a dream. I really am an exchange student staying in the Minamino residence with none other than Suichi Minamino, A.K.A. Youko Kurama… Whoo," you mumble almost incoherently as you sit up and try to wake up even more with repeated stretches and eye rubbing. You slowly get up and go over to your dresser, grabbing an outfit consisting of dark jeans and a black t-shirt with a red Chinese lung imprint on the front.

Once changed, you grab a book and your money and head downstairs with more energy now that you were finally able to move around and wake up. Upon entering the kitchen, you noticed Kurama sitting at the table, drinking freshly brewed herbal tea while reading a decently thick book, the teapot still nearby. He glanced up at you from his book and gave a warm smile.

"Good morning. I wasn't expecting you to be up at this hour. Would you like some tea?" he greets you and gestures towards the teapot.

"Morning to you too. Thanks for the offer. Just direct me to where the cups are and I'll join you," you return with a grin of your own. Kurama points out which cupboard has the glasses and you thank him again as you grab one and sit at the table with him, pouring your own cup of tea. You blow off some of the steam before sipping it slowly and sighing in pleasure as its delicious warmth ran down your throat and relaxed you.

"This tea's delicious. What kind is it? I know it's an herbal green tea but I can't place what the herbs are," you ask him curiously.

"It's nothing special. I particularly enjoy this tea when I need a little something to get me up in the morning or relax me," Kurama dismisses the comment with slight amusement, trying to seem casual, and goes back to reading his book. You go back to sipping the tea quietly, shrugging it off. You'd watched plenty of "Lie to me" back home to know that he was lying but didn't care too much. It just meant it had some demon plane herb in it, you didn't see much reason to worry though if he thought it was safe enough for you to drink it even though you were human.

The two of you quietly sat in comfortable silence as you sipped tea and read your books. You had no idea how much time had passed, but you were near oblivious to the world as you read a suspenseful event when you faintly heard someone say something. Reluctantly, you tore your eyes away from your book and looked to find Shiori walking in. She smiled at the two of you with slight surprise in her eyes when she saw you as well. That's when you realized that Kurama had spoken, greeting his mother upon her entrance.

"Good morning Shiori-san," you greet with a smile. Shiori returns the gesture to us and I notice Kurama at the sink, filling up the teapot with more water as to make more tea. 'Strange, it was at least half full last I refilled my cup,' you thought but mentally shrug it off once again in disinterest before going back to your book, keeping more attuned to your surroundings and pretending to read.

"It seems you two are more alike than I thought. I don't suppose either of you have eaten breakfast yet have you?" Shiori comments as you hear her grab some things to make breakfast.

"Not yet, no, mother. Do you need any help?" Kurama offers with genuine sincerity. You smile at this, glad that he actually eats breakfast with his mother instead of lying and making up an excuse to leave the house for one reason or another, like in the fan fics.

"Thank you Suichi, dear. Are you going with us to the store?" Shiori asks as they fix the food together.

"Unfortunately, no. I promised a friend from school that I'd help them study for a test we have in English tomorrow," Kurama apologizes. You roll your eyes as your smile disappears. 'So much for not making up excuses. Going to train with Hiei sounds like a more reasonable possibility, considering Kurama doesn't have any friends at school,' you think blandly and place your bookmark to hold your spot, losing interest in reading at the moment.

"Oh, ok. I assume you'll be leaving after breakfast then?" Shiori asks as you now search the cabinets and drawers to set the table for them. 'I hate doing nothing like a freeloading moocher,' you think bitterly.

"Yes. They suggested on getting an early start so I agreed to come over around 9:00. I should be home by the time you two get back," Kurama explained expertly as he removed the loudly whistling teapot from the stove. Soon, Shuuichi and his dad, Hatanaka-san, enter the kitchen just as Kurama and Shiori set the food on the table while you pour everyone's tea. You notice that both of them still have on their nightclothes as you take your seat again.

"Geez, now we have another early-bird like Shuu-nii. What is it with high school kids and getting up early?" Shuuichi questions drowsily as he starts digging into his breakfast. (I don't know what they'd normally eat for breakfast so I won't describe it) You roll your eyes with a playful smile at him as you eat as well.

"Hey, I just had my alarm set on accident. I usually get up this early to get to school on time. After all, us women take much longer to get ready when you count all the feminine necessities we use," you reprimand playfully with that little white lie at the end.

The other three laugh a little before they soon get into a conversation to discuss everyone's plans for the day. From what you paid attention to, Kurama would 'be at his friend's house studying' for most of the day, Shuuichi had to go to practice for something around noon, Hatanaka-san would be taking Shuuichi to practice and running errands for work, and of course you and Shiori would be out on an all day shopping trip for the family's necessities and your uniform. All in all, everyone would be busy and out of the house for most of the day. You soon finished your food and excuse yourself before cleaning your dishes and heading upstairs to put up your book and grab your mp3 along with a jacket, just in case, and your uniform. You head back downstairs and accidentally bump into someone as they came through a door.

"Oops, my bad Shuu-chan," you apologize holding one hand up in mock defense with the other rubbing behind your head.

"It's no problem, but I think you're mixing up mine and Shuuichi's names," Kurama replies with some amusement at your behavior, raising an eyebrow at your nickname.

"Oh, sorry, I just tend to make nicknames for my friends with Japanese suffixes and Shuu-chan just fit you. I guess I can't use it since it would probably be better for little Shuuichi, huh?" You explain embarrassedly.

"Hm…I suppose not, though I'm not entirely sure I know why you think that particular nickname fits me," Kurama mutters in response. You shrug innocently as you both walk downstairs where Shiori waited for you.

"Are you ready Ashley-san?" She asks as you tie your red jacket around your waist. You nod yes to her with a small smile as you three head out the door. You and Shiori wave bye to Kurama as he walks away while you climb in the car.

"See ya later, Suichi! Have fun with your 'friend'!" you call out to him with the slightest emphasis on "friend". He looks back at you for a second before smiling and returning the wave as he continues down the street. You grin while buckling yourself in as Shiori pulls out of the driveway and heads over to the shopping center.

The two of you quickly pull into an open spot and head over to the tailor to get the adjustments made for your uniform. Once finished with that, you both go and grab the groceries and other things until they finished hemming your clothes. By the time lunch rolled around, most of the shopping was done and your stuff was finished. You were now heading to one of the nearby café's for something to eat upon Shiori's persistence.

"Hey, Ashley-san! Over here!" you heard as you took a seat on the café's patio area. You blink and look around to see Botan waving at you with two brunettes standing beside here. You smile and wave back at her as they start heading towards you.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise? What bring you girls here?" Shiori asks when they neared.

"Just a little girls' day out. With the boys all busy, we decided to get together for once. It's nice to see you again Shiori-san," Botan greets as they take seats at a table near ours. "Oh, Ashley-san, I'd like for you to meet Yukimura Keiko and Kuwabara Shizuru. Keiko, Shizuru, this is Silica Ashley, the exchange student I told you about," Botan introduces.

"It's nice to meet you Silica-san, Botan's was just telling us about you. Are you really living with the Minamino family?" Keiko greets you kindly.

"Yes, I do. It's nice to meet you as well Keiko-san, I've heard a little about you as well from Yusuke…By the way, you guys can just call me Ashley, being referred to by last name is a little weird for me," you return with a smile.

"Hey, kid, you're gonna have to watch yourself at school. I hear red's got a few girls up there going after him. They probably won't like you staying at his house with him," Shizuru warns you.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to watch my back tomorrow. Can't give a few fan girls an opening to try and get me down," you thank her with some laughter.

"You got that right. If any of those girls give you any problems, you just let me know, k kid?" Shizuru backs you up with a pat on your back in approval while handing you her phone numbers. The five of you share a small laugh at this before looking over your menu just as a waitress came over.

"Anything I can get you to drink?" she asks you and Shiori. You glance at her in the corner of your eye and mentally cringe at her wardrobe and fake smile that showed annoyance. It seemed there wasn't much of a uniform except the apron and nametag.

"I'll have a sweet herbal tea. What about you dear?" Shiori stated in an ever sweet motherly tone.

"I think I'll have the same Minamino-san," you inform with a smile at her, keeping the waitress in your line of view. You could feel your lips twitch upwards at the surprised look the waitress had as her eyes darted between you two before going back to a fake sweet smile.

"Ok, so that's two sweetened herbal teas. And are you two ready to order or do you need more time?" she relays with a dangerously sweet tone. We gave her our orders and she jots them down before taking our menus and heading back inside. Not a moment after she disappeared inside, you heard an amused chuckle come from beside you. You look over and see a very amused Shizuru and Shiori.

"Ashley-san, why did you suddenly call Shiori-san Minamino-san? You've been calling her Shiori-san all the times before," Botan asked you curiously. You look around at the four and see that Shiori and Shizuru seemed to know a sort of hidden joke that Keiko and Botan were clueless about.

"Just curious about the waitress's reaction. It seems I've already found one of the girls Shizuru warned me about," you explain. The two girls look at each other as a look of dawning crosses their faces.

"You're a sly one aren't ya kid? Using red's last name to stir up a reaction out of her," Shizuru questions.

"I do what I can. I take great pride in having so much time on my hands that I can now catch the simplest body movements to give away what a person's thinking, even through lies," You state with a proud grin, remembering times when you could spot a lie out of someone just by the tone of their voice or the twitch of a finger or an eye.

The five of you just chatted away about nothing in particular as the waitress came back with your drinks and took orders for the trio next to you. You quietly sipped your tea as you observed how the waitress lost the enthusiasm she had for Shiori after mentioning her last name, and how Botan seemed the slightest bit hostile towards her, though keeping it well hidden in her cheery demeanor. Shiori also seemed to keep an eye on her with some distance, as if knowing why she was being treated so nicely and disapproving of the woman before her even more.

As soon as she left, you all went back to chatting about anything and everything. You try and get into the conversation as you smile and laugh at the appropriate times but don't put too much more commentary in then Shizuru. This continues throughout lunch until you all finish up and pay before parting ways. You and Shiori quickly finish up your shopping with renewed energy and head to the car to head home.

Once home, you grab some of your stuff and some groceries and head into the house with Shiori to see Kurama and Shuuichi sitting at the table. It looked as if Kurama was helping Shuuichi with some last minute homework. You smiled at them in greeting when they noticed you two and waved, unable to return the gesture yourself. They both stopped what they were doing and got up to help the two of you with unloading the car. You hadn't really gotten much for yourself, though what little you did get Shiori insisted on paying for, but you weren't complaining. While wandering around the stores, you'd spotted an antique shop that had several different figurines, jewelry, wall scrolls, and best of all, near mint condition blades.

The two of you had entered the shop upon sight of the beautiful artwork, and you had placed a request to hold a few of those blades and a couple of dragon and phoenix statuettes. Quite a successful day when you consider all that, and Shiori volunteering to help you find a job upon you mentioning how you wanted to get some money for yourself, and possibly find a place to stay here for when you graduate high school. She seemed quite excited at the prospect of you living in the neighborhood after you finished school.

With the four of you working together, the car was unloaded in no time and the groceries and other things put away soon after. During this, you quickly learned where everything was kept so you knew for future reference. You left the kitchen with Shuuichi while Kurama and Shiori started making dinner for everyone. While dinner cooked, you helped Shuuichi finish his math homework, finishing just as Hatanaka walked through the door.

During dinner, Shiori decided to share the events that happened earlier today. She became quite descriptive when she came to the little encounter at lunch. You could feel your face get warmer and warmer as she told them how you got a reaction out of her and figured out she went to Meiou High.

"That's a very interesting talent you have Ashley-san. How long have you had it?" Kurama asks interestedly.

"Not very long. Probably less then a few months. It just seemed to come naturally after I first got into it. Especially when lots of people don't realize some of the things they do to give themselves away. It's so involuntary and natural that we normally don't think about it and try to avoid what we think shows we're lying when it's the exact things we do to prevent that," You reply softly in a summarized explanation.

"That's really cool Ashley-san!" Shuuichi exclaims. You look at him and smile amusedly.

"Really? 'Cause I can see a little worry that you'll slip up in front of me and I'll call your bluff. The honest one's have nothing to worry about as long as they tell the truth. You're brother doesn't seem too worried about being caught," you tease him under your breath, laughing softly when his face paled and frame stiffened slightly. You faintly saw Kurama's mouth and pinky twitch as if glad to hear this like you knew he did, what with that demonic fox's hearing capabilities. 'That should keep his suspicions about how much I know down a little. Then again, he just may know I'm lying as well and could be contemplating on questioning me later, being the master of deception himself,' you think and go back to eating as Shiori begins telling of the antique shop we found and everyone else tells of their day as well.

After dinner you helped clean up and checked the time to see it was still pretty early, the sun was just setting. You headed upstairs to your room, planning on checking your e-mail and downloading the files on your flash drives, and heard someone following you upstairs. You look behind you to see Kurama heading up as well. He notices your glance at him and waves, followed by a motion to say he wanted to speak to you privately. You nod and turn back around so you didn't trip over the steps. You enter your room and leave the door open for him to come through. He soon follows and closes the door behind him.

"You wanted to talk," You ask him in more of a statement as he turned to you.

"Yes. Was what you said down there to my brother true or were you lying as well?" Kurama starts off as he sits on your bed and looks at you as you wait for your computer to start up.

"Honestly, I lied, though I believe a better question is how did you hear me?," you reply while creating a computer username and logging in.

"Let's just say I have very acute hearing," Kurama sidestepped. You nod in understanding and plug in your black flash drive that held all your music.

"Ok. What else? I know you wouldn't ask to talk to me just for that," you urge on, hooking your speakers back up to your computer before turning to him.

"How many times have you caught me lying in this short time?" Kurama questions, turning his light look into a piercing gaze.

"Well…I'd have to say about three since I got here even though they were half lies, correct?" you trail off unsurely as you try to remember everything that he said and did since yesterday.

"And what, per say, did you catch me lying about?" he asked, still staring at you with that piercing gaze as he rested his chin on his folded hands while they rested on his knees.

"Always with the difficult questions that make me retrace my steps…Ok, um…when you said your friends called to say they were dropping by, when you told your mother you were going to a friend's house to help them study, and…Oh, when you told me the herbs in the tea this morning were nothing special. You avoided my question and lied about them being 'nothing special.' Is there anything else you'd like to discuss on this matter?" you responded slower than before as you tried to remember when he lied. You looked at him to see something flicker briefly in his eyes, almost as if his demon side surfaced for a second as they narrowed slightly. You tilt your head to the side, blinking, to show that you noticed this and were curious about what it was.

"Is something wrong?" you ask him curiously. He looks up at you, startled for a second. This makes you even more interested in his behavior even with the fact that he hadn't figured out how to summon his original form without the seed.

"Sorry. Nothing's wrong, just got caught up in thought," Kurama comforts. You nod in understanding.

"Ok then…Like I said before, is there anything else you'd like to discuss about this, or is that all?" you repeat, turning back to your computer to remove the flash drive and insert the other one.

"No, that's all I wanted to ask you for now. Thank you," he dismisses with a nod, getting up and heading for the door. You watch him walk over to the door but stop him just before he grabs the handle.

"Why won't you tell any of us?" you ask him. Kurama's hand stops just centimeters from the doorknob.

"Excuse me?" Kurama asks surprised, turning towards you with shock written all over his face.

"I asked why you won't tell anyone about what you're hiding. I can tell your friends that I met today and yesterday know what it is, but I'm curious as to why you hide it from your own family. I understand why you don't tell me. I'm new and untrustworthy at the moment, but it doesn't explain your secrecy with your family," You elaborate softly, blank eyes softening slightly.

"You wouldn't understand what I'm hiding from them…By keeping them in the dark about it, I'm protecting them…and myself…that's all I can tell you," Kurama says even softer before continuing out the door in a solemn silence, closing it before you could reply.

"You're wrong Kura-kun. I understand more than you think, much more…-sigh- And you're only hurting them, trying to protect them. I can see it in Shiori's eyes. She worries about you everyday you exit the house, claiming to 'study with a friend,' hell I would too if I were in her position," you mumble solemnly as you turn back to your computer to remove the flash drive and check your e-mail. You quickly wipe away the tears that were forming, only for them to overflow from your eyes when you read the e-mail your grandmother sent you that was mourning over the loss of loved ones in various families. 'Damn it, why does she have to be a strong Christian and send me these things. It's only when mourning death do I cry for someone,' you think bitterly, moving on to the fan fiction updates that are sent to your mail.

Once you were finished reading the updates you cared about, you looked to see that it had gotten fairly late, probably around 9:30. You exited the windows and shut down your computer before stretching and crawling into bed so you had plenty of rest for tomorrow. You grabbed your mp3 and turned it on, placing the ear buds on and slowly drifted off to sleep as you listened to the music…


	4. First day, rivals, and classmates

Chapter 4

You were awoken several hours later by your cell's alarm and the sun shining in your face from the window. 'How long have those curtains been open?' you think drowsily as you turn your alarm on snooze and rub your eyes. You slowly get out of bed, stretching in the process, and grab your uniform and shorts before heading to the bathroom. You quickly change and lean closer to the mirror a bit to apply a little make-up. 'Might as well dress up a bit for my first day,' you think dully. You quickly apply some black eyeliner with your new red eye shadow along with a light layer of base, blush, and some lip-gloss.

You head out and grab your new briefcase bag, stuffing it with notebook paper, pens, pencils, notebook, spiral, schedule, phone, mp3, and one of your Rurouni Kenshin books. You then head downstairs leisurely with another Rurouni Kenshin book in your hand and go into the kitchen, grabbing a cup and having some tea with Kurama like yesterday. You stare at the tea in slight disapproval to find that it was the tea Kurama made when his mother entered the room yesterday and not the delicious Makai herbal tea you would've liked.

You shrugged and continued drinking the citrus tea you normally drank anyways. You glance at Kurama as you grab one of the breakfast muffins that were lain out, taking a bite to savor the chocolate chips melted inside. You go back to reading your manga and eating breakfast as Kurama all but ignores your presence, though you knew he sensed and heard you there. Soon enough, Shiori came strolling in and the three of you exchanged greetings. You marked your place in your book and noticed Kurama get up and head over to Shiori.

"Hey, Suichi-kun. When does school start exactly? The stuff I got in the mail didn't say," you ask suddenly.

"It starts at 8:15, but what's with suddenly addressing me with –kun?" Kurama replies with his infamous politeness.

"Well, you don't want me calling you Shuu-chan so I **had** to come up with something other than calling you Suichi-san all the time. It annoys me," you answer him grinning. The two chuckle slightly at your behavior but soon calm down.

"I see you've both eaten breakfast already. Do you have all your things? Shuuichi, do you have all your homework?" Shiori asks you two while handing you both the bento boxes she made.

"Yes mother, all of my homework is finished and accounted for. I was about to head out actually. It's a nice day so I thought I'd walk to school today. Ashley-san, would you like to come with me?" Kurama invites. You nod in agreement as Kurama gives Shiori a hug and a kiss on the cheek in farewell. You get up and give Shiori a hug as well before telling her good bye and following Kurama to the front door with your bag. You both slip on your shoes and head outside with one last wave to Shiori.

The walk to school was enveloped in a peaceful silence as you walk by Kurama and cut through the park. You couldn't help but roll your shoulders and pop your back at the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Don't get me wrong, you always felt like you were being watched but now it seemed to intensify tenfold as you walked by Kurama.

"Ashley-san, would you mind if I looked at your schedule? We might have a few classes together," Kurama asks as you exit the park and the school came in sight.

"Sure, knock yourself out," you shrug and hand him your schedule. You watch as he examines your schedule quickly before handing it back to you.

"It seems we do have the same schedule. You have class 2C with me," Kurama informs with a smile.

"Whoo…More reason for those girls at school to hate and despise me. Whatever, I always wondered what it'd be like to be the enemy of a fan club. Ever since I started watching anime shows with guys that had fan clubs I'd wondered if I could do that and get on their nerves all the time," you mumble out dully while putting your schedule away.

Not too long, the two of you reach the school gates and start heading across the yard so Kurama could show you to the office room then head to class. You hadn't even taken a few steps into the schoolyard before you soon heard all of the students around you two start to whisper what would probably lead to possible rumors and/or frequently asked questions.

'I sure hope that waitress isn't the head fan girl around here with all the popular votes on who would have the best chance with "Suichi" and the "most attractive woman at Meiou" that would just make her annoying with a large ego on the side,' you think bitterly, keeping an eye out for anyone that has her face.

"Minamino-kun! Good morning Suichi-kun!" you hear a female greet loudly and sweetly as the two of you exchanged shoes at the small front lockers. You look in the direction it came from and see the waitress from yesterday run over waving, followed by two little lost lambs. You noticed her slow slightly as she caught sight of you next to Kurama.

"Ah. Good morning ladies. How are you this morning?" Kurama asked politely, closing his locker with his inside shoes in hand. You quietly watch all this as you fastened your inside shoes on the bench behind him.

"We're good, thanks Suichi-kun. You're always so considerate," the waitress replies with a blush covering all three girls' their cheeks. You roll your eyes in annoyance at her behavior while grabbing your bag and pulling out one of two of the drinks you packed.

"You're too kind. Inori-san, I heard that you ran into my mother just yesterday, didn't you?" Kurama addresses the waitress. Your eyes shoot open as you almost spew out your bottled drink at the mention of her name while she replies the affirmative. You quickly remove the bottle and hold your hand over your mouth stop yourself from spitting it out and try to swallow it without chocking. 'T-This is too much. Her name is Inori?! It's so similar to Ino! And she's blonde haired, blue eyed!' you think amusedly, completely unaware as the four turn to you.

"Ashley-san are you ok?" Kurama asks you concerned and pats your back. You successfully swallow your drink and start coughing to clear your throat.

"Yeah –cough- I'm good. Ahem, it just went down the wrong tube," you assure waving his hand away. You close the lid on your bottle tightly and put it away, still coughing slightly, and turn to the four who were still staring at you. You decide to get off the near dying experience by asking, "So Suichi-kun, are you going to introduce me to your friends or what?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. Ladies, this here is Silica Ashley. She's new here as a foreign exchange student from Texas. Ashley-san, this here is Yakisora Inori, Takamine Sakura, and Fukimura Motoko," Kurama introduced pointing to each. You were now having a hard time keeping a calm exterior when the girl with short brown hair to the left was introduced as Sakura while the other girl with red-ish brown hair on the right was introduced as Motoko.

"Hi. It's nice to meet y'all. And it's nice to see you again too Yakisora-dono," you greet with a friendly wave and smile while Kurama put on his shoes.

"Umm. Nice to meet you too? No offense but, what's with using y'all and dono?" Motoko questions while giving you a dirty look while Kurama was focused on his shoes.

"1. It's a Texan thing. 2. some of my Japanese came from books like this," you explain just as friendly as before, holding up one of the Rurouni Kenshin books to make your point. The three girls scrunch up their noses in disgust before replacing them with friendly smiles as Kurama stands up.

"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse us ladies. I need to show Ashley-san the way to the office before class starts," Kurama apologizes as we soon head towards said office.

"Zip pity, I just made an enemy," you say in a singsong voice once the two of you were out of earshot. Kurama hides a small chuckle behind his hand as you two walk. Soon, you reach the office and Kurama holds open the door for you as you enter and address the secretary that noticed you two.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" the woman asks kindly.

"Um, I'm the new foreign exchange student, Silica Ashley," you answer shyly.

"Ah, yes of course. Do you have your mailed in schedule?" the secretary asks. You nod and hand her your schedule. She accepts it and hands you three sheets of paper.

"Here's the schedule you'll be keeping along with a map of the school and a note to give your teacher to explain that you're new. Minamino-san will show you the way to class," she explained before turning back to her computer. You thank her and walk over to Kurama, who leads you outside and to your class.

"Well, that was an eventful morning, and it's not even 8:30," you comment as you both enter the classroom. Upon entrance, you see many of the students sitting in small groups, chatting with the small exception of one student that sat alone, reading a book. You roll your eyes upon noticing the solo Kaito with his 'I'm to mature to associate myself with you children' attitude surrounding him. You notice that the room suddenly got quiet when you two entered and you feel several pairs of eyes on you while you take notice that the teacher wasn't present yet and Kurama led you down the rows of desks to his seat.

"You can sit in this chair for now Ashley-san. No one sits in it with our assigned seats," Kurama offers and gestures to the chair behind him while taking his own seat, ignoring the sudden silence.

You thank him and take your seat while looking around the room to see just about everyone other than Kurama looking in your direction either curiously, angrily, or a combination of the two. It didn't take you long to take note that Kaito had even looked up from his book at you to see what got everyone so quiet all of a sudden. You quickly ignore them as you pull out the book you were reading earlier and continued it, only to hear whispers start up about you. You remained calm and composed as you leaned back and try to read your book, occasionally hearing snips of comments the other students said to one another.

"Man, did you see that new girl? She's totally hot and actually makes the uniform and glasses work for her," you hear one boy comment softly.

"Can you believe that girl? The nerve of her trying to warm up and be all buddy-buddy with Suichi-kun," one girl mentioned angrily.

"I know. She's only known him for a few hours! Look at her, she doesn't stand a chance with him," another girl stated.

"Seriously. There's no way we can lose to her. We have first dibs on asking Suichi-kun out," a third input to their conversation. You grip your manga tightly to help control your growing anger.

"And do you see what she's reading?! There's no way Suichi-kun could fall prey to a girl that would read that garbage," the first girl continued. Your right eye soon begins to twitch in annoyance before you release one of your hands from the book to reach up and press on that one spot on your eyelid to stop its incessant twitching. Soon enough, you were saved by the sound of the tardy bell and the entrance of the teacher as everyone sat in their assigned seats.

"Settle down class, settle down," the teacher calls out and sets his stuff down on the desk. You sigh and close your book before getting up with the note you were handed and walking up to the teacher. He notices you approach him and asks, "Hello miss. Are you new? I don't recognize you."

You nod and hand him the note, explaining that you were the foreign exchange student as he read over the note. He nods in understanding when he finishes reading it and turns to you smiling. You return the smile politely as he turns to the class.

"Everyone. We have a new student that will be attending Meiou with us for a while. She's a foreign exchange student from Texas and I'd like for all of you to give her a warm welcome. Would you please tell us a little about yourself Silica-san?" he announces. You nod as you feel your heart pound rapidly in your chest and turn to the class. 'Just remember what you did back home. It's just like your first speech in communication application,' you assure yourself with a deep breath.

"Hello everyone. My name's Silica Ashley. I would prefer if all of you referred to me as Ashley instead of Silica. As the teacher said, I'm from Dallas, Texas. I enjoy reading and writing fictional stories, singing, drawing, and fine arts in general as well as mythical things like dragons, vampires, demons, and the like. I'm not necessarily here to make friends, nor am I here to make enemies, though I will accept your friendship if you honestly want it. So, don't think you have to be buddy-friendly with me just because, or because you feel sorry for me as I greatly dislike actions of sympathy or pity," you inform everyone. The teacher thanks you and informs you that the seat behind "Suichi" was to be your permanent seat after the small applaud from the class. You nod and head back over to your seat as he begins his lesson.

The rest of the morning went on uneventfully as you took notes and did the work, speeding through everything when mathematics came along. When lunch came along, you quickly pulled out your bento and drink while Kurama took his time in getting his before turning around to join you. You both shared a smile before you muttered the Japanese version of grace and broke your chopsticks. Kurama was about to follow suit when someone called his human name. You both turned to the source to see a group of girls there with one or two guys, Inori standing in it and waving for Kurama to join them. Kurama glanced at you from the corner of his eye and was about to decline when you caught his attention by tapping his hand.

"Go on. No reason for you to drop your social life just because of me. I'll probably just look through the notes from history to make sure I got everything. Besides, talking tends to make me eat slower and I need all the food I can get so I have enough energy for Gym class," you assure him and push him towards the group who were now all ushering him over when he glanced back. Kurama smiled at you once more before apologizing and grabbing his bento as he heads over to join the group. You turn your attention back to your bento as you consume it and look over the notes you now had on your desk. Not long after, a shadow hovers over your desk and you look up to find Kaito standing by your desk with a book and box lunch in hand.

"Good afternoon I couldn't help but notice you sitting over here after Minamino left you alone. Not exactly something I would consider polite. Mind if I join you?" Kaito greets. You shrug as he takes the seat next to you and starts eating his lunch.

"You know, Suichi-kun didn't just abandon me here to eat with them. He was going to decline but I told him to go on, in case you missed that little detail. Besides, no matter what he chose, his actions could have been considered impolite depending on the person's view point, Yu Kaito, correct?" you inform him as you glance his way dully.

"Yes. I'm surprised a girl like yourself even took any notice of me," he stated with sincerity.

"Flattery, or sucking up as we Texans call it, get people no where with me. Suichi-kun is a friend of mine because I enjoy hanging out with him and can actually have an intelligent conversation with him. I understand that you have written a few books that were published correct? What about?" you ask, changing the subject.

"Just a few essays on philosophy and literature. You said you wrote stories didn't you?" Kaito asked, silently agreeing on the change of subject.

"Yeah. It's mainly fan fictions on stuff I've already read like my Rurouni Kenshin, but I have a couple I'm working on of my own creation. So far, the only things that can be considered public publishing are a couple of fan fictions on an Internet site specialized for that," you confirm. Writing books and possibly being a puzzle obsessed grammar Nazi are probably some of the only things that you and Kaito have in common.

"If you want. My publisher's been looking for some new blood that can write some good fantasy/adventure novels. When you finish a book, just come talk to me and I'll see what they think. If they like it, you would obviously get some of the profit it sold," Kaito offers, honestly interested in what your works might be like. You pause from eating for a moment before smiling at him.

"Thanks a lot. I've been wondering where on earth I'd find a publisher that would even look at my stories when I finished them, much less think of publishing them. If you would really have them look at it, I just may be in your debt," you state in gratitude. Kaito nods and goes back to eating his lunch while reading his book. You quickly finish up your lunch as well and eat your last bite just in time to see Kaito get up and start to walk away.

"Where ya going, Yu-san?" you ask him. He stops and looks at you blankly for a moment.

"Minamino is coming back and I don't preferably enjoy the idea of sitting near him if it can be helped. We are practically rivals for having the top scores," he stated and continued on his way. You look over to the group and, sure enough, Kurama was on his way over to you.

"Hey Suichi-kun. You know, you kind of scared off my new friend," you wave to him and put away your now empty bento box. Kurama laughs lightly at your slightly pouting face.

"Can you really call him a friend? Last I looked over to see how you were doing, you were both eating quietly. Besides, I'm not sure I like the feeling I get from him," Kurama questions and glances over at Kaito, who was now in his seat again, for a second.

"Hey. He's my book buddy. Besides he may also be my publishing buddy soon. He's not a bad guy. Ok, he may be a bit antisocial and seem rough around the edges, but so does your friend Hiei," you jab in Kaito's defense. And honestly, that was exactly it, in a way, Kaito was a less attractive human version of Hiei and Kurama put together. You quickly snap out of your reverie to see Kurama blink confusedly at you. "What?" you asked.

"What do you mean he might also be your publishing buddy soon?" he asked. You're confused expression quickly turned to one of a mixture between emotionless and annoyance.

"I thought you had really acute hearing. Didn't you hear the conversation between us then?" you state matter-of-factly.

"I have acute hearing, yes. That does not mean I could hear what you two discussed earlier above all the commotion by the other students. I do have my limits," Kurama pointed out with slight annoyance creeping into his voice though his outside composure was still calm and friendly, other than his hands. You could feel your face start to grow warm in embarrassment at the fact you failed to consider.

"Sorry. I forgot that little detail. I suppose you wouldn't have heard us above all the commotion of those students you were sitting with…He asked me about how I said I write stories earlier and after telling him a little about them, he mentioned his publisher looking for someone who could write some good fictional novels. He said he'd show them my work when I completed one of my original stories and let me know what they think," you answer his question. Kurama nodded with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations. Let me know what they said and if it gets published. I might just be the first to buy a copy," Kurama praises you. You smile at him and stuff all your things in your bag right before the bell rings to signal the end of lunch.

"Time for gym I guess," you say as you both get up and head out with the rest of the class. Surprisingly, you did really well in Gym class. When you ran laps with the other girls your legs didn't start hurting and you weren't so out of breath during most of the exercises you had to complete. All in all, you seemed more physically fit than usual. You even did quite well when the class played 'boys vs. girls' dodge ball and you girls played volleyball. You were disappointed that none of the boys aimed the ball at you during dodge ball until you had gotten five players out. In Volleyball though, the other team had the three fan girls so you were passed the ball often, but just barely got it nearly every time.

The rest of the day went on like this morning with the only enjoyment being during the art period where the class had to sing in either solos or ensembles in front of the rest of the class. Each student could pick their own songs of other artists or one they made up. Several of the students sang badly but it seemed that everyone was eager when Inori and Kurama went up for their solos. You smiled enthusiastically and clapped happily when Kurama sang what seemed to be **his** song 'Koori no Naifu wo Daite.' As he sat down you pat him on the shoulder and he turned to you.

"Hey, Suichi-kun, love the song. What do you think I should sing?" you whispered to him.

"Thank you. I think you should sing that song you were singing when you met the majority of my friends. The Japanese and English one," Kurama suggests.

"Thanks Suichi-kun. 'Life is like a Boat' it is then," you reply gratefully.

"Silica-san. I presume your talking means you're ready to perform for the class? This may be your first day but that does not exclude you from this particular assignment," the teacher reprimands.

"Sorry, Minoru-sensei. Yes, I'm ready to perform," you apologize to her and walk to the front of the class, shocking Minoru-sensei a bit as whispers started up about what you would sound like after stating that you liked singing this morning.

"Very well then. What song will you be singing and by who, or is it one you made up?" she asks you while jotting down the information at her desk.

"No ma'am, it isn't. The song title is 'Life is like a Boat' by Rie Fu," you inform her and she looks up at you in more surprise to hear that the song was by a Japanese artist. She nods and motions for you to start which you do. You close your eyes as you start singing, glad that there was no intro to remember and keeping Keita under control so she didn't start making you dance around the classroom. That would be embarrassing. Once you finished the piece, your eyes shoot open as nearly the entire class erupts in an enthusiastic applause, several of the students shouting for encores, whistling, or howling in approval until the teacher calmed them down.

"I do believe we have a new star singer for the ladies of class 2C and possibly for the school. Silica-san that was a beautiful piece even without its accompaniment," Minoru-sensei praises.

"Thank you sensei. –giggle- and to think my dad wanted to pay for private voice lessons," you comment and head back to your seat.

At the end of school, Kurama says that he was going to stay to finish up some things, ushering you to go on without him. You nod and head out, grabbing your cell and calling someone once out of his earshot.


	5. Meeting Genkai and awakening twists

I'm back on!! For those of you who read chapters 1-4 of this series but didn't read my one-shot "The secret is out" then I'll inform you of a little something. Originally, I was going to be unable to post in the month of may because I was grounded from the computer thanks to my parents. Now my dad has made a deal with me that if I pass this year in school in all my classes, then I can be on it. But if I fail even 1 class, then it's goodbye computer for the entire summer break. Wish me luck people!

"Hello? Shizuru-san?" you ask as you reach the school gate.

"_Hey kid. Those girls giving you trouble already?_" Shizuru replies jokingly on the other line. You start walking away from the school and head over to the park you cut through with Kurama this morning.

"No. I was wondering. What are you doing now?" you assure her with a grin.

"_Nothing in particular at the moment. I just got off work_," Shizuru answers with exactly what you wanted to hear.

"Cool. Would you mind doing me a favor?" you ask, trying to keep the nervousness out of your voice but still trying to sound casual.

"_No problem. What do you need?_" Shizuru accepts.

"Thanks. If it's not too much trouble, could you give me a ride? I heard of this martial arts master that lived in a temple outside town and I wanted to see if they might teach me how to defend myself," you inform.

"_Sure thing. What's their name and where are you now?_" Shizuru agrees.

"Thanks a bunch Shizuru-san. Do you know where the park near Suichi's house is? I'm there right now. And the person's name is Genkai if I remember correctly," you continue.

"_Yea I know where it is. I have to drive by there on my way home anyways and my little bro is out at the arcade with Yusuke. I'll meet you over there. I know Genkai too. See ya in a few kid_," Shizuru lets you know before you both hang up. You put away your cell after calling Shiori to let her know you'd be hanging out with Shizuru and sit on a nearby bench as you wait for her to show, a wide grin plastered on your face. Fortunately, you didn't have the feeling of being watched like you did with your walk through here with Kurama. 'Hmph. Probably Hiei having a telepathic conversation with Kurama out of boredom or something. Since Kurama probably doesn't usually leave school until it's almost dark he wasn't present. Could be asleep in any of these trees as far as I know,' you think, remembering the occurrence that will more than likely happen in less than a month. You laugh a little at the memory of Hiei falling out of a tree when you suddenly hear a honk.

You look over to the street to see Shizuru waving at you from her car. You smile and wave back at her as you grab your bag and head over to her. You climb in and get assaulted by cigarette smoke from the cigarette she was currently smoking. You pull your hair back into a ponytail, using the hair band you kept on you at all times, so your hair stayed out of your face. It seemed that Shizuru was at least somewhat mindful and kept the windows rolled down so the smoke wasn't so intoxicating. You were glad for this, being used to it a little from your dad but still not very fond of it. The two of you chatted as you told her of what happened with the fan girls at school and explaining to her how funny it was when you found out their names and compared them to fan girls on anime shows.

It wasn't long until the two of you arrived at the base of Genkai's front staircase. Shizuru parked the car and you both climb out as you start your trek up the massive hill with a small groan of annoyance. You had forgotten that she had so many stairs and while you didn't mind walking up hills, you hated stairs. I mean, there's more stairs leading up to her front door than there are going from the bottom floor to the top floor in your four-story school back home in Texas. Given there were only eighty steps back there but it still made your legs hurt by the time you got up to the top.

Somehow, you made it up there without collapsing and saw Genkai standing at the front door as if expecting you. You noticed as she seemed to regard you with caution before giving a small smile and greeting Shizuru.

"It's nice to see you Shizuru. You and the fox are the only ones in that bunch that can actually pertain some intelligence without closing themselves up like Hiei. Who is this you brought with you though?" Genkai greets and takes a drag from her own cigarette.

"This is Ashley, the foreign exchange student I'm sure Botan told you about," Shizuru introduces.

"It's nice to finally meet you Master Genkai," you state with a smile and bow of respect.

"Yes, both her and Yukina told me about her. Is there any specific reason you brought her with you?" Genkai asks after greeting you with a nod and a smile of approval.

"I was going to visit you when she called saying she wanted to learn some martial arts and asked if I could take her to you, hearing about you being a master," Shizuru explained, pushing some of her auburn hair behind her shoulder.

"Hmm. So you want to learn how to fight do you child?" Genkai asks, now addressing you.

"Yes, please, if you would consider making me your pupil. My experience level is little to nothing and I'd like to learn how to defend myself and close friends at least, whether it be with my hands or a weapon," you implore determinedly.

"Very well then. My training it different compared to what you may think and before you decide, I'd like for you to take a few tests to determine if you have what it takes to handle it. I can already see the determination you have, so that's good. Follow me. Shizuru, could you tell Yukina to make our extra guest some tea as well and we'll join you two shortly," Genkai warns.

"Sure, no problem," Shizuru assures and heads inside while you remove your shoes before following Genkai along the platform surrounding the outside of the temple.

"Here we are," Genkai states as she stops by a door and pulls it open to reveal the arcade from the Genkai Trials Tournament.

"You will be completing three games in here. You must pass at least two of the three before I decide if I will train you," she informs and shows you over to the punching game and explaining what it will determine. You nod and pull on the boxing glove a little nervously, but try to feel and visualize all of your energy go into your right fist and punch it hard. The score soon comes up to show a total of 135. You blink in surprise before removing the glove and following Genkai over to the rock-paper-scissors game as she explains its purpose.

You quickly go through the fifteen rounds on that and attain a score of 13 out of 15. You glance at Genkai to see her nod approvingly before showing you over to the karaoke machine. You smile and hope it has a song that you know on it while Genkai explains how it measures your life energy. You get up on the stage and hear the door open to reveal Shizuru and Yukina come in, Yukina carrying a tray with some tea for each of you. You smile and wave at them before turning to the list of songs and scanning through them until you found a song you definitely knew. It was by a male singer but you could sing it in your octave. You change it over to that song and begin singing…

[Introduction]

On the ground I lay

Motionless, in pain

I can see my life flashing before my eyes

Did I fall asleep?

Is this all a dream?

Wake me up

I'm living a nightmare.

I will not die (I will not die)

I will survive

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

I feel alive

When you're beside me.

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

In my time of dying

On this bed I lay

Losing everything

I can see my life passing me by

Was it all too much?

Or just not enough?

Wake me up

I'm living a nightmare.

I will not die (I will not die)

I will survive

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

I feel alive

When you're beside me.

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

In my time of dying

[Instrumental]

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

I feel alive

When you're beside me.

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

In my time of dying

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

I will not die

When you're beside me

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

In my time of dying!

[Ending]

When the song finished, you heard both Yukina and Shizuru clap and you turn to the monitor to see that your score was 110. You blink as you look at the score and remember the other two scores you got, blinking a second time. 'I…passed all three?' you think confusedly, then grin at the thought of beating Yusuke and Kuwabara at two out of three games each before turning back to the other three. You hop down from the stage and accept the cup of tea Yukina offered you, taking a good drink to let the warm tea clear your throat.

"Very good child. The last time I had someone take these tests not one person got higher than 100 on that test and passed both of the other tests as well. Though I suppose its not too surprising with you being a demon, but I will train you," Genkai congratulates. You blink confusedly at her last sentence.

"I'm a…demon?…How does that work out when I'm generally weaker than a normal human without spiritual powers?" you question confusedly.

"It seems that someone has sealed away your demon side and all its power when you were but an infant. Being that most demons rely so much on their demon abilities, it's only natural for one to become weaker than a normal human when stripped of their powers. Indeed, the main way I was able to figure out you were a demon was because of the wards I placed around my temple. Not even you're aura or scent seems to give any hint other than with detectors for weak demons and ones suppressing their energy. You are apparently fortunate as most demons wouldn't even be able to last as long as you have before they died from the loss of their initial strength. It seems that most of your abilities come close to surfacing when you're singing. If you wish, I will release that seal and we will start your training on how to hide your energy to where it is the same as now tonight. By the time you leave here, you will master how to hide your energy enough to seem like the 'weak human' you seem now," Genkai explains. You nod in understanding and agreement at her logic. You silently drink your tea as all you learned processes and sorts through your brain.

"Thank you Master Genkai. I have a few hours until must head back to Suichi's house but until then, it may be best if we start my training soon. Just tell me what to do to release my power," you agree with that same determination in your eyes.

"All I need is for you to activate a trigger that brings your demon powers as close to the surface as possible. Seeing as we've already found that trigger, I just need you to sing the songs you know that effect you the most," Genkai instructs.

"Shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have my mp3 with me and it only contains songs I have strong emotional feelings through," you explain and grab your mp3 out of the bag you brought up with you. Genkai leads you three out of the room and into a much darker room that seems to have wards on the entrance. You go inside and sit where she instructs you to do so and turn on your mp3 and start singing when she tells you to as she starts chanting. You close your eyes and just keep singing, focusing only on the music and the emotions it stirs up until you feel a hand placed on your shoulder.

You look up to see Yukina smiling down at you and telling you that the procedure was over. You nod dumbly with your mouth slightly agape at seeing an ice blue aura surrounding Yukina and look to see a blue-white aura surrounding Genkai and a golden yellow one surrounding Shizuru. You pull out your ear buds and turn off your mp3, giving your undivided attention to Genkai as your training began.

Hours later you said good by to the two with Genkai's phone number newly programmed in your phone. You quickly hop in Shizuru's car with more energy than when you arrived at the temple and the two of you sped off. Genkai seemed pleased with your determination, concentration and quick learning capabilities. In less than two hours you had mastered how to hide your energy without even needing your full concentration and started training on how to control your energy and learn what demon you were. You were even able to get the three to tell you a little about the gang and Kurama's real name but asked of you to keep it secret and to still refer to Kurama as Suichi, even with them, saying that Hiei would be able to tell. You agreed to do so as long as you four kept it secret from everyone else that you were training, period. You didn't need Kurama requesting to come with you to watch you train or worrying about how much closer your involvement in the supernatural became.

Soon, Shizuru dropped you off at the Minamino residence before waving bye and driving off, saying she'd meet you tomorrow unless Kurama walked home with you. You walk inside and call out your arrival upon not seeing anyone in the living room. You walk in the kitchen to see Shiori and Kurama making dinner and greet them.

"Welcome home Ashley-san. Could you be a dear and set the table? Dinner's almost ready. Have you eaten anything?" Shiori asks you while giving you a smile before turning her attention back to her cooking.

"Not since lunch aside from some tea," you respond and go to the cupboards to grab some dishes.

"How was your time with Shizuru? Did you girls have fun?" Shiori continues.

"Yea. We mainly just talked and did some window-shopping but I've usually gotten along more with older women instead of women in my grade. It was fun," you tell her. A few minutes later dinner was ready and the family was once again talking about their day and what all happened. You were more involved this time and told the family of the events at school involving the fan girls and during classes. Once you all finished dinner you helped Kurama clean and hummed a little tune under your breath, mindful of your energy now that it was released and you could control it.

"So Suichi-kun, is there anything else you'd like to question me on tonight or are you still out of questions right now?" you ask smiling at him as he turns to look at you.

"I'm not necessarily 'out of questions' but I do need a little more time to word them so I know exactly what I'm going to ask so you know what I'm talking about and don't get the wrong ideas," Kurama explains with a smile of his own as you both dry off your hands.

"Alright then. I'll be in my room if you need me," you inform and head upstairs with a good night. You drop your bag by your bed and start up your computer as you start a daily routine for school days. You were a little disappointed as over the next few mornings Kurama never made that herbal tea from the Makai he made that first morning. The bright side was that he hadn't asked you anymore questions other than to get to know you, examples being your favorite color, manga/anime (which you had to successfully lie about), etc. By the time Friday was over, you had learned to control your energy so you could make up to three clones of your self that you could control the individual actions of, you could form mental barriers that strengthened each day along with telepathy and telekinesis, you could now form balls of the elements though only one at a time and only to the size of a tennis ball. You could even control plants to some limit.

Now it was Saturday and as you entered the kitchen with a book like you normally do and wearing some jeans and a t-shirt with a long-sleeve shirt underneath, your nose, which had been heightened along with your other senses thanks to your newly unleashed demon energy, had caught a whiff of something delightful smelling. You smiled at Suichi as he returned the gesture while you poured your own cup of tea. You carefully sip it, being wary of the heat and your sensitive tongue, and smile into the drink at the familiar taste of the herbal tea you've been wishing for. 'I guess he only makes it on the weekend to help calm him down from everything he does during the week and prepare him for the week ahead,' you contemplate. It seemed that along with your senses and abilities heightening, your brain seemed to be waking up so you could think clearer and get your work done faster and faster. It's as if as a weak human you used 10% of your brain and as you awakened and controlled more of your demon self, more of your brain cells turned on from a long hibernation.

Shiori soon cam in and now the three of you made breakfast together. You mainly just helped in simple things like chopping vegetables but as your stay lengthened, you became more interactive and helpful around the house. Breakfast was peaceful in that you all mainly discussed what you all would be doing today like last weekend. Kurama would be going and hanging out with his friends for the day and you gave the excuse that you would be doing the same, having been offered to have a 'female-bonding' day with Shizuru and Yukina who'd been invited along with Botan and Keiko. You told them that Botan declined because of work and Keiko was busy studying for some important tests at school. You were glad that you could say that since before you left Genkai's everyday, the four of you would come up with a sure-fire story to explain your absents and so you and Shizuru had the same story for Kuwabara so the four boys wouldn't find out, and last night was decided for that story since Botan was a pilot of the River Styx as well as the gang's assistant and Kuwabara had the same tests as Keiko. Everyone agreed to this as it also can lead to my knowledge of Genkai's existence, stating Yukina wanted to introduce me to the woman she lived with and thus, ending up with me being friendly with Genkai and not having to have as far fetched stories as before.

You went up to your room and grabbed your purse, stuffing some comfortable clothes in it so you would have something to wear at Genkai's other than your uniform. You stuffed a little money in it as well just in case and soon were heading out the door after bidding farewell to Kurama and his family, granted Hatanaka and Shiori weren't married yet.

You smiled and waved at Shizuru and Yukina as you hoped in her car and the three of you drove away. You look out the window and suddenly notice a black blur jump through a second story window. You roll your eyes at the realization that that was Hiei hoping in Kurama's window and turn your attention forward while keeping your senses up just incase Kurama had gotten suspicious at your constant absents' to spend time with Shizuru. The three of you talked idly about what you all would do today since Genkai said she would train you for only until about lunch time and then you were free to do what you pleased. You all agreed that after Genkai was done training you, you would all eat and then you would take a shower before changing back into the clothes you were currently in and actually doing what your story insinuated.

Training was quite a bit harder today since you would be training your body in combat and agility instead of your powers now that you had some decent clothing to train in. By the time Yukina called for lunch you were panting and covered in scrapes, bruises, and a couple of cuts on your sides from training on how to fight with hands and a sword, though it was a wooden kendo practice sword. You two walked inside the temple, taking your shoes off, and you accepted the towel Yukina offered and she healed your wounds some, not all the way since Genkai said you should let your demon abilities adapt to quick recovery. The four of you ate and put up the dishes before Shizuru, Yukina, and you headed out to window-shop. You were fortunate that Yukina had healed your wounds enough to not be noticeable on your arms and legs and had just stopped the bleeding and bandaged your cuts because as soon as you reached the bottom of the stairs you all sensed the boys coming. You wink at the girls before the others came into view and telepathically told them what to do. They nodded with smiles of their own as you three continued to the car just as the boys sped up, probably sensing us or at least Shizuru and Yukina. You just opened the door to hop in back when you heard Yusuke shout something. You turned with the girls to see Yusuke and Kurama run towards the three of you.


	6. Great, new wings and hiei joined in q's

Chapter 6

"Hey you guys, what are the three of you doing here?" Yusuke asks with a grin, wrapping his arm around your shoulders when he reached you. You controlled yourself from wincing as his weight was added to your sore shoulders. Genkai seemed to enjoy hitting you there as you were training with the practice sword.

"We were just leaving to head to the shopping district. Yukina wanted to introduce Ashley here to Genkai so we decided to head here for some lunch. Didn't my little bro tell you we were doing some girl bonding?" Shizuru informed them while smoking on a cigarette.

"Yeah, and I told you and Shiori-san that's what we were doing. Now please get off of me Yusuke. My legs are a little sore from climbing all those stairs and you're not helping," you lied and removed his arm.

"Sorry about that. Those stairs are a pain aren't they?" Yusuke joked.

"Yeah. I mean, my school back home had eighty stairs and even they started hurting my legs by the time I reached the top. I'm surprised I didn't collapse going up them," you shout to state your experience from almost a week ago. Kurama hides some laughter behind his hand at my torturous story while Yusuke just laughs and I look his way to see him put his hands up in mock surrender.

"So what are you doing here?" Yukina asked politely.

"We heard some 'creep' got loose from somewhere around here and thought we'd come check it out. Have you guys seen anything?" Yusuke diverted mainly addressing Shizuru and Yukina.

"Nothing out of the norm around here other than Ashley being here. Got a mission with that detective thing or something?" Shizuru tells him while me and Yukina nod in agreement with her.

"Not really. We just heard 'rumors' that something was going on over here. I guess they were wrong." Kurama explains with a frown. 'Oops, must have let my energy spike for a nanosecond without realizing it…Explains why Genkai whacked me a couple times without an explanation,' you think and try not to rub your shoulders to rid yourself of the reoccurring dull throb. The three of you finally hop in Shizuru's car and head back into town.

"Do either of you know what they could have meant?" Yukina asked curiously from the front passenger seat.

"I think I accidentally spiked my demon energy a little while training with Genkai," you confess and rub your shoulders a little. Soon enough the three of you had reached the shopping district you were at last weekend with Shiori and were chatting happily with each other. Eventually Yukina told you about her quest to find her brother and how the only things she has to identify him was her tear gem, though she stayed quiet about the demonic relationships and told you of that through the mental connection you made. She pulled it out of her sleeve and handed it to you as you took it and looked at it, loving the cool feeling on your skin and seeing that calming power their mother's tear gems contained. You soon handed it back to Yukina who quickly stashed it away.

"It's beautiful Yukina. I promise I'll do what I can to help you find your brother. From the sound of it, he needs to find out what its like for a sibling to love you," you swear with a smile.

"Thank you so much Ashley-san," Yukina thanks as you three continue on. Sooner than you would've liked, the sun was coming close to setting, signaling that you all had to head back. Shizuru dropped you two off at your designated houses. You entered the house and took your shoes off while announcing your arrival. You head into the kitchen where everyone was sitting together strangely minus Kurama who was still gone from the house.

"Is something wrong?" you ask concernedly.

"Ashley-san, you've only been here a week but we feel as if you're family already. We have and announcement for you three but we wanted to wait until you were all here together," Shiori explains, offering you a seat. You take it unsurely and wait.

"Mother, I'm home," you hear as Kurama entered through the front door. Shiori tells him she's in the kitchen as you take notice that Shiori had her hands clasped with her right on top of her left, specifically hiding her left ring, pinky, and middle finger. I hide my smile to myself at the realization of what was going on.

"Mother, is everything alright?" Kurama asked worriedly as he entered similarly to how I had.

"Yes, of course dear. Please have a seat. We have an announcement for you three," Shiori assured her son. You couldn't stop your smile from showing now as you tried to suppress it while Kurama took the seat next to your right.

"What is it mother?" Kurama asked.

"Well, Suichi-kun, your mother and I…we're engaged now," Hatanaka announced a little nervously.

"Congrats you guys! That's wonderful!" You applaud as the two sons smile and do the same.

"Now I really and gonna have an older brother!" Shuuichi exclaimed. You laugh at his antics before getting up and going over to Shiori to give her a hug.

"You guys had me worried at first before I saw your hands Shiori-san. Could I see your ring?" you confess and fall to your girlish Keita whims. Shiori laughs and shows you the ring as Kurama gets up and comes over as well.

"To celebrate this happy couple, I'm cooking dinner!" you announce joyfully with a grin.

"Are you really gonna cook Ashley-san?" Shuuichi exclaims.

"You bet! You answered my question a few days ago so to celebrate, I'm gonna make a good old Texan dinner," you confirm.

"Would you like some help?" Kurama asks. You nod and start opening some cans of chili and beans you found in the grocery store. Kurama grabs the ingredients you asked him to get out of the fridge and soon enough, the two of you were making Tex-Mex enchiladas. The family enjoyed the dinner though most of them agreed that they shouldn't have them often because of their unhealthy nature.

The next day you enjoyed the herbal tea and breakfast and returned to Genkai's temple with Shizuru to train and inform everyone of the good news. That day you still focused on physical combat but you also spent a little time controlling your powers more since you would be training all day, only breaking for lunch. You trained diligently and as you focused on your control of the wind you felt a sudden stab of pain, as if something was trying to break out of your back. You tried to ignore it and continued your elemental training. You screamed in pain as whatever was causing you pain broke free from your back between your shoulder blades and you faintly thanked that you were wearing a low back tank top. You breathed heavily and noticed a black feather float down to the ground in front of you. You look over your shoulder to see two large feathery black wings coming from your back. You stared wide-eyed at them through the immense pain in your back and faintly felt the others help you up and into the house. You soon felt Yukina's cooling hands hover over your back as you lay on your stomach in the living room of Genkai's temple. You snap out of it by the time she eased the pain and ran over the area of your back where the wings connected and gently wiped up the blood and puss you easily smelt.

"Great, how am I supposed to hide a pair of giant black wings from Suichi's family and especially Kurama?" you questioned yourself aloud.

"Simple. Only half the day is over so for the remainder of the day I will teach you how to use and hide them as soon as Yukina's finished healing your back. By the time you leave, only A and S class demons will be able to see them," Genkai answers you. You sigh and relaxed while you could until Yukina finished and you were cleaned off.

For the rest of the day you learned how to hide your wings then went back to your other training though with your wings out this time. You would have started to teach yourself how to fly but they were too sore even with Yukina's healing. And hour or so before you left you had Yukina heal the injuries on your arms and clean and bandage the ones that bled until you could no longer smell your blood. You wave the two bye as you follow Shizuru down the stairs to her car. She dropped you off before heading home herself and you sighed as you entered the house. 'Ok, so now I've got four things I've got to keep hidden. My demon aura, my demon form, my training, and my knowledge of their secrets,' you think exasperatedly.

You head to your room to drop off your stuff after greeting the two Hatanaka members and Shiori. Right before you enter though, you sense both Kurama and Hiei in it. 'What do they want?' you wonder before walking in without stopping as if you hadn't noticed their presence. You look up to find that, indeed, Kurama was waiting for you on your bed while Hiei sat on your windowsill.

"Suichi-kun? This is a surprise. Have you figured out exactly what you wanted to ask me? And why is Hiei here?" you question and set down your bag.

"You may want to sit down for this. Mother won't start dinner for another hour so we have some time," Kurama replied, avoiding your questions. You sat at your swivel chair at your computer desk sideways and leaned your right arm on the backrest so you could get up, should they decide to attack. 'Next weekend I'm gonna see if I can't spend the night with Yukina,' you decide.

"You've been quiet lately about whether or not I'm lying about anything," Kurama comments offhandedly. You concentrate even more on keeping the three big giveaways secret as you shrug and reply.

"There's not really much you're lying about that I see the need to comment on. The main times you lie are when you leave to do something with your friends on weekends. Is that 'detective thing' that Shizuru mentioned yesterday what you're hiding from the four of us?" you reply nonchalantly as if you see no need to concern yourself.

"I see. And what about yourself? What have you been doing all this time you've been gone?" Kurama urges ignoring your question completely.

"Like I said, I've been hanging with Shizuru and Yukina, getting to know them some. And today and yesterday I hung out with Genkai too. She agreed to train me a little on basic self defense so I could protect myself if I ever came across a thug or something on the streets," you semi-lie.

"And didn't you say you weren't here to make friends on Monday during first period?" Kurama continues with a questioning eyebrow.

"I said, 'I'm not necessarily here to make friends, nor am I here to make enemies, though I will accept friendships.' Shizuru and Yukina are nice people and I'm glad I made friends with them. I never said I was completely against having friends. What's your point?" you correct.

"I'm just worried about your safety. It's not safe for you to be all the way by Genkai's temple," Kurama points out. You forced yourself to calm down before answering at the risk of losing your temper and blowing your cover.

"I think I can handle it Suichi-kun. Shizuru can take care of herself pretty well and Genkai can take care of herself just as well if not better, despite her age. Genkai's been close to working me to the bone today so I can defend myself and whoever's close to me using hand-to-hand combat. While Yukina doesn't necessarily have any sort of fighting talents whatsoever, she knows better than to stray too far off from one of us or the temple. And after what all of them have been through, they are more knowledgeable about the dangers of the world than some people give them credit for. Now when will you answer my question on why Hiei's here?" you confront him.

"I'm here because of my own reasons onna. When you answer his questions you will answer mine understood?" Hiei growls out. You nod before turning back to Kurama.

"And what exactly do you know that the three of them have gone through?" Kurama asks.

"All three have lost their mothers and have gone through many troubles for the ones they care for. Yukina's looking for her brother, Shizuru is caring for hers while their dad is always away and Genkai lost the one she cared for most recently while living most of her life without parents as a wandering martial artist," you explain catching their attention.

"And when did you find out about Genkai's past?" Kurama inquires.

"At lunch today and yesterday. We talked some and got to know each other better like I did with Yukina-chan and Shizuru earlier in the week. Besides, you already know I've made it a habit to read people's expressions. She looks like she's gone through things like that and after asking, she just confirmed it," you explain simply. 'Good thing that is pretty close to the truth, though I think I just made up a bunch of that,' you think.

"You met with Yukina other than today, yesterday, and last weekend?" Kurama asked with an expression of surprise on his face.

"Do I hear and echo? Yeah, once or twice Yukina came along with Shizuru during the week, big whoop. You guys are acting like she never leaves the temple during the week," you inform them.

"Very well then. I'm done for now. Hiei, if you're ready, she's all yours," Kurama says handing me over to the cold and stoic fire demon.

"What are you onna?" Hiei starts off with when my attention was turned to him. You look at him weirdly with your reply.

"What? Am I not human or something? I've been thinking I was a weak human all my life. Are you saying I'm not?" you question him and pretend to examine yourself for any inhuman mutations while making sure that nothing revealed your training.

"If you're human onna, then why is your mind blocked and how is it blocked so well?" Hiei growls out in annoyance. You scrunch your eyebrows together in fake confusion.

"Suichi-kun, has your friend been to the loony bin or been watching too many supernatural movies recently?" you ask Kurama quietly. You look back at the window as Hiei suddenly growls in annoyance and anger.

"No, he hasn't, and he doesn't usually watch movies. He is on a probation that bounds him to this city only," Kurama explains with slight amusement though you could see the calculation he had in his eyes at Hiei's words.

"Bummer. That must suck huh? Especially if you don't live here or something else that makes you want to leave really badly," you sympathize a little.

"Hn. I'm the one asking questions onna. You said you were training with the old woman? Remove your shirt," Hiei demands. You gawk at him slightly before you soon throw a small fit, even if your suspicion on why he wanted you to remove your shirt is correct.

"Name one good reason why I should do what you say. I don't see any reason why I have to take off my shirt," you demand incredulously.

"If you're really training with her you should have some injuries but I don't see any on your arms," Hiei explains simply while examining you with his eyes.

"Fine. I'll be right back. If you really want proof then I'll just put on a tank top. I'm not about to just go shirtless in front of two teenage boys," you compromise. He nods in agreement, accepting that, and you grab a brown tank from your dresser before heading into the bathroom.

When you came out you were wearing the jeans and brown, low-cut tank top that had a dragon on it. Of course, this particular tank top didn't have a low or narrow back so the two sore marks from your wings were still hidden by it and your hair while two good size bruises could be clearly seen on your shoulders. Kurama looked at your shoulders a little shocked and even Hiei seemed slightly interested at actually seeing the bruises.

"There, you happy now? That was the main reason why I didn't want Yusuke leaning on me yesterday Suichi. What do you want to ask now?" you spit out a little bitterly. You were starting to get worried that too much would be revealed if this continued.

"Why didn't you just tell us you were starting to train in self defense?" Kurama asked you.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. The others told me that you guys fought sometimes, even just sparring with each other. I hate feeling like a useless lump that can't even protect themselves from probably even a perverted drunk. I figured that if I could learn to fight then I wouldn't have to worry about it. And if I learned enough then I would even be able to fight with you guys and hold my own. I said I could attack a couple of pressure points but I don't see any use in that if someone can pin me and I can't get close enough without being hit. Master Genkai said I seemed better cut out for training with a weapon so we've been training in the basics of hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting using some wooden practice swords. She seems to enjoy hitting me on my shoulders and back since that's where it hurts most…I hate having people worry over me and being a burden," you explain softly, looking down at your hands as they fidgeted in your lap.

"I'll admit that hag knows hand-to-hand combat, but she doesn't know anything when it comes to weapons other than the basics. You would have had a better chance with the oaf training you there," Hiei puts in cockily while turning back to the window.

"And you think you can train me? Sorry but I haven't exactly seen you wield any sort of combat strength when it comes to hand-to-hand much less with a katana. I'm just taking what I'm given to be able to defend myself," you provoke him. Just as you thought, he turned to you with a cocky smirk on his face, nearly accepting your challenge.

"And what would you do if I did teach you how to wield a blade? You don't exactly have one of your own and with those clothes you're wearing there wouldn't be much room to hide one either," Hiei challenges as Kurama watches this spectacle in amusement and interest of what the outcome may be.

"Last week during my shopping trip with Shiori we found an antique shop. Inside had several expertly crafted blades, quite a few of those I requested to be held for me until I picked them up. All I have to do is go there with the money and they'll give me them along with a care kit I requested. You can even come with and choose which one you want me to use for our training. Loose, concealing clothing isn't a problem to find for me. Plus, I had six different blades at home that I can ask to have shipped here," you shoot back with your own smirk. Hiei chuckles slightly at the prospect and you can just imagine how much fun he'll probably have in attempting to teach you.

"You have yourself a deal onna. At least it'll give me something to do while I'm stuck in this hellhole. You have two days to prepare. After that I will go with you to get these swords and we will begin," Hiei dismisses.

"Hey, the main hellhole is all the way back in Texas. You have not been to hell unless you were in my friends position while she lived with her aunt," you correct somewhat jokingly.

"Yes well now that we have that all cleared up, why don't you change back into the shirt you were wearing so Mother doesn't get worried. I don't have anything to do after school on Wednesday so I'll come watch how you do with Hiei. And so I can help with tending to any wounds you get with him," Kurama offers. You nod and thank him as you go back in the bathroom to change back into the t-shirt you were in previously. 'It seems like I'm changing clothes more and more everyday I stay here,' you think. You shrug it off as you walk out and see Hiei gone while Kurama continued sitting on the bed, waiting for you.

You smile at him as you sit back down in the swivel chair and fire up your computer. Once it finished loading, you quickly got on the Internet and switched tabs from your homepage to the second tab on Yahoo. You check your e-mail real quick, seeing no new updates on any of the stories, and subconsciously head over to You tube. You realize this mistake too late but almost sigh in relief when you see an ad on the first page that pushed the 'Recommended for you' videos off the page. You were glad this happened as you could see Suzaku's and Kurama's hair poke out from the bottom of the page. You go to your favorites and keep it at the top since the first row was only visible and the second row had all yyh related videos while the first had other anime. You turn to Kurama and notice him looking at the four visible videos.

"You wanna watch them?" you ask him, knowing nothing was visible about yyh from these four videos. Kurama looks at you questioningly at the sudden question.

"What? You looked like you were interested about them, especially the 'Bleach's Misery Business' one. I just thought you might want to watch it," you explain innocently. Kurama nods and you click on the one with the Menos Grande Hollow icon. As you watch the AMV you frequently glance at Kurama to see an interested look on his face. Kurama does the same with you as you sing along with it and notices your eye twitch when it shoes Captain Aizen. When it's over you look at him for his opinion.

"That's certainly interesting. Perhaps I may watch it some time," he inputs.

"Well if you want, I just got season one and two for Christmas last year. You can borrow them if you want. It's the original uncut version too. And I've been trying to get all the volumes of the manga," you offer. He thanks you and the two of you hear Shiori call for dinner. You both head out after you minimize the window and meet everyone at the table. Over dinner you knew that you were going to have to tell the others of what happened tonight with Kurama and Hiei.

That Monday you went through without much mishap other then the information you told Genkai, Yukina, and Shizuru and the couple of encounters with the fan girls at school. Genkai agreed that Hiei would be the one to focus on your swordsmanship while that afternoon and Tuesday, you would focus on getting off the ground and putting what you learned into action, walking into the cursed forest in your human disguise and defending yourself against the demons you purposely come across. Your fights against them were fairly easy and you even accessed a couple of new abilities while fighting the bat Yusuke fought in the heart of the forest that helped you defeat him quicker.


	7. more trainees, teachers, and kidnapping

Note: Quite a bit of these from here on out will be direct quotes from either the English episodes I found on You Tube, thanks to chingcong523, or from the manga on …or the book I have.

Upon return to Genkai's temple after defeating the bat demon, you two saw someone at the front door talking with Yukina. You quickly hide your wings before you reach them and realize that it was three teenage boys, more specifically Kaito, Yanagisawa, and Kido.

"Oh. Master Genkai. It seems these boys are looking for your assistance with something," Yukina calls over upon noticing us. The three boys look over and you see Kaito look in surprise to see you standing there with Genkai in your spaghetti strap tank top and shorts. You go over and stand by Yukina as you notice the low sun making her shadow stretch close to Kido's feet, a little too close for your comfort.

"Yes well what is it?" Genkai asks a little harshly to them.

"It seems we have some powers that we all have recently attained this month. We thought you might be able to help with them," Kaito informs as you push your glasses up while watching them closely.

"What kind of powers are we dealing with here?" Genkai asks with a raised eyebrow. You spot Kido inch closer to Yukina's shadow as he asks Genkai to watch. You gently shove Yukina out of the way and stand where she was, causing Kido to step on your own shadow instead.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Genkai asks him.

"Master Genkai. I can't move," you inform her as you try to mover your arms. Genkai and Yukina look at you in surprise.

"Ok, but what can the two of you do?" Genkai asks, addressing Yanagisawa and Kaito. The two of them explain their powers to the three of you and Kido releases your shadow. You stumble slightly from the uncomfortable stance you were stuck in and straighten up just as Kaito addressed you.

"Ashley-san. What are you doing here exactly?" Kaito asks.

"Training in self defense," was your short and blank reply before you headed inside with Yukina to change clothes and partially heal your wounds. Wednesday, both you and Kurama met Hiei in the park after school and walked to the nearby shopping district that had the antique shop. You went in and bought some of the things you had on hold quickly, coming out with four narrow boxes, the last one being half as long as than the other three. Kurama and Hiei looked at the box curiously, knowing that it didn't have a katana in it.

"They had a bamboo sheathed short sword. I got it since I don't have the clothes yet," you explain simply as the three of you sat at a bench and Hiei examined the swords. He eventually chose the one for you to use and the three of you were off to the forest near the park you were just at. You reached a clearing in the forest and Kurama left with your other three blades to sneak into your room before coming to watch you train. Kurama tended to your wounds with some ointment and bandages before you changed out of the spare clothes you packed and back into your uniform. Thursday and Friday, you went to Genkai's and Genkai had you train with Yukina in how to heal while she taught the three that came earlier in the week.

The next two weeks went smoothly as you came up with agreements between Hiei and Genkai for when you would train with who. At school you talked to Kaito a little more during lunches whenever Kurama sat with the group of school kids, discussing things about how you were coming along in training and your books and other things. Training with Hiei was a little harder than Genkai's since you couldn't give yourself away and heal your wounds and Yukina wasn't there to do so either. Regardless, your training with him was helping you progress in three areas: swordsmanship, speed, and healing rate. Sometimes Kurama would randomly decide that he wanted to come see your training at Genkai's whenever he didn't stay late at school and you weren't training with Hiei. Those day's you'd call Genkai to let her know and she'd focus on your hand-to-hand combat the entire afternoon while making sure he didn't know about Kaito, Kido, and Yanagisawa.

Now it was nearly a month later and you had to cancel on Genkai to finish a chemistry project for school, staying with Kurama since he was your lab partner. As you two finished, the Biology club came over and asked for Kurama to join. You internally brightened at the realization of what was happening. But suddenly put your hands up in defense when you were being asked to join as well when the dismissal came on to tell everyone that the Janitors were locking up.

"Come on you guys, you have to, you're geniuses. And with you as our captain Suichi, our team could finally win," the student begged with his hands in prayer up at Kurama as he turned to face them, setting his beaker down.

"As exciting as a biology meets sounds. Our weekends are full," Kurama apologized for us since I was to train with Hiei on Saturday and he was coming with me to Genkai's on Sunday.

"But you're a prodigy. Top scores every week, and the school loves you two, don't they?" he continued while the other two with him nod in agreement. He then continued, "You'll turn this whole club around. We start winning contests, we get more funding, and then we get girlfriends!…Please." Kurama and you had to put your hands up in defense and back away as they all chanted please in unison and neared.

"You've certainly thought this out, but I can't," Kurama apologizes and we head to the door.

"Oh no you don't. Ugh. I've waited too long to get my chance. You join this team or face our wrath!" the leader argues, racing to block our way and knocking over a stool on his way.

"-sigh- Nerd violence," you both mutter and look at each other in surprise, yours being fake as you just wanted to say it with him for the fun of it.

"Kurama!" you hear someone shout distantly.

"Don't tell me," Kurama mutters under his breath at the sound of Kuwabara's voice.

"Suichi-kun, that sound's like Kuwabara-san. Who do you think he's calling for? I didn't think anyone went here by the name Kurama," you ask him curiously as Kuwabara asks where he is from the hallways.

"Sorry Suichi. I'm not really mean. Just desperate, please!" the lead geek tells him.

"Yes well you did have us scared," Kurama lies with his hands up, you nod with a sweat drop while scratching the back of your head.

"So, will you join?" he asks but is interrupted.

"Aha! There you are Kurama!" Kuwabara shouts and kicks down the door, leaving for it to fall on top of the desperate geek. "You could have just come into the hall you know?" Kuwabara pointed out before both him and Botan look down to see the squished student and you hear the background music from the series play in your head, hand covering your mouth to suppress your laughter.

"Hey what did he call you?" the geek sidekick on the left asked.

"Who's Kurama?" the right hand geek followed up with.

"Oh, just a meaningless nickname. There's no need to remember it. Yes isn't that right?" Kurama waves away nervously, turning to Kuwabara. "Please, be mindful. I'm Suichi here," he whispers to Kuwabara who apologizes.

"Really? Maybe I'll call you Kura-kun now," you comment absentmindedly.

"Is there a reason you've come?" Kurama asks.

"I'll say. Take a look at this…Any ideas who could have written it?" Kuwabara explains. You look over Kurama's shoulder to read the note, you wanted to try and see who wrote it.

"Smells, human," Kurama notes. You sniff it too and roll your eyes. 'Kaito. Of course he wrote it. Kido and Yanagisawa probably touched it too to throw Kurama's nose off since he's never met them and Kaito avoids Kurama as much as possible anyways,' you think.

"Yeah that's what's weird. He left with school kids. We got just four hours to find Hiei," Kuwabara informs.

"Well, he should be somewhere in the city. Although his criminal record has been cleared, Koenma still confines him here. I haven't seen him lately though. Have you Ashley-san?" Kurama replies. You shake your head no, stating you hadn't seen him since Kurama last saw him. Kuwabara puts up his fist and nearly growls in annoyance.

"Too bad Hiei's not here. We could use his jagan eye to find himself," Botan complains as Kuwabara agrees with her…Until they realize what she just said.

"Logic is panic's prey," Kurama states philosophically while you giggle a little.

"Kura-kun, what's a 'jagan eye'?" You ask, bringing the fact that you were in the room back to their attention. You were all then in a mini awkward silence until you heard grunting and looked down.

"Can I get some help?" the still squished nerd asks.

"Come on you guys. We got to go find Hiei," you insist while leading the way out. Kuwabara and Botan shrug and follow you out into the hall.

"I'm afraid you can't come Ashley-san? This is too dangerous for you to be involved," Kurama tells you as he places a hand on your shoulder to stop you.

"Tough nuggets Kura-kun. Yusuke's in trouble and he's my friend. I'm not about to go home and tell Shiori everything's all hunky dory and do nothing when he's in a life or death situation like this," you state stubbornly. Kurama eventually gives up when he's reminded of the limited time they had and you all head out.

"So now what?" Kuwabara asks as you all stop to discuss the course of action on a bridge. You hop up on the high railing and just sit on it as you all converse.

"It's hard finding Hiei when he doesn't want to be found," Kurama adds. You all discuss the various courses of action, silently agreeing to explain any questions you had after the matter was taken care of. Eventually it's agreed to meet at the park in an hour while Botan retrieved the detective items. In that hour, you and Kurama headed home to tell Shiori that the two of you would be spending the night with the Kuwabara family since it was Friday. You then changed quickly into some jeans and a tank top with a jacket on. You thought for a second and then grabbed your purse and packed a bottled drink and two of your fans, one wooden and one metal, so you could keep cool if need be in that room Kaito was in. You then packed your volume 13 of YYH with your book of useless information and mp3, as well as a tank and shorts. Once satisfied that it looked like you had clothes for the night you headed back downstairs and met up with Kurama before heading to the park together.

"And bingo. All the gadgets of a spirit detective," Botan proclaimed, opening her suitcase once everyone was present.

"Wow. Like a real secret agent," Kuwabara comments in awe.

"So which device will find him?" Kurama asks as you four huddle around it. Botan fumbles a bit and goes through them poorly. You roll your eyes and spread your senses to find Hiei sitting in one of the trees, sleeping?! You could feel a sweatdrop form, turning so you faced the tree he was in so you could see when he shows himself, as the others talk to Botan who fails to find gadgets that would actually be helpful.

"Gah! Let me see this stuff!" Kuwabara shouts and starts examining all the gadgets while ignoring Botan's exclaims at him.

"Perhaps it's the wrong approach. Instead of finding him, is there an item that will make him, find us?" Kurama inquires.

"Get real. Botan would have mentioned it if we had something like that," Kuwabara points out.

"We do," Botan remembers, causing Kuwabara to fall over. She then explains what it does and warns for us to cover our ears. Your face pales when you finally consider the fact of what it does and what you are now. You quickly cover your ears, folding the outer ear over the canal for extra cushion. Botan then blows the whistle and you just faintly hear Kurama and Kuwabara through the whistle's shrill cry as you watch the tree Hiei was in. The whistle soon stops so you remove your hands, still keeping your eyes on the tree.

"There. Now we wait for Hiei. Hopefully he shows up," Botan comments before a second later, you watch Hiei fall out of the tree behind her. The others turn towards him while Kuwabara comments how fast it took.

"What repulsive creature makes my eardrums bleed?" Hiei asks himself. He then looks up to see the four of us as Botan thanks him for coming.

"Hn. I didn't know it was you. I only came to find the source of that vile noise, and kill it," he points out to hide the truth. You roll your eyes at him with a small smile while Kurama hands him the note. Once he finished reading it he states amusedly, "Hn. So the detective's been ensnared. We should have been around to see it. Must have been to cocky to realize his own weakness. Just tell the kidnappers I turned it down. I'm finished babysitting."

"You must be curious Hiei," Kurama questions a bit, gaining Hiei's attention. He then continued, "Someone strong enough to overcome Yusuke must surely provide a challenge." You nod in agreement from beside him.

"Nice try, but I no longer care," Hiei dismisses after a moment of silence and walks away.

"How could you even think of walking away Hiei. If you don't come Yusuke could be killed," Botan tries to guilt him.

"Not my responsibility. You should have learned by now, this is a kill or be killed world. If you're too weak to help yourself you deserve to fall," Hiei informs coldly, looking back at you four over his shoulder.

"Some comrade you are Hiei," you mutter, folding your arms across your chest in a small pout.

"And what if stopping these people now protected your own interests?" Kurama asks making Hiei pay more attention to him. He elaborates, "The culprits are likely human and we both know what powerful humans like to hunt. If they're allowed to kill Yusuke, perhaps you will be next."

"You know, you're right. Once a human gets political or physical power they get big heads. Humans always have to kill that of which they fear once they have the power to rid of it," You input making everyone but Kuwabara look at you and wonder how you knew that when you're supposed to be human.

"Fighting humans, that nearly peaks my interest, but not quite," Hiei still refuses.

"I wonder Hiei, how have you liked being stuck on probation? Bolted down to one human city," Botan asks.

"What do you think?" Hiei asks her, voice full of annoyance.

"Well, if you help bring back Yusuke alive, I'll have Koenma cut your sentence to time served. You'll be free," Botan deals. You look at her with a grin while Kuwabara asks if she's sure. Her reply being, "There's no other choice. We're almost out of time. Make your call Hiei."

"Fighting humans to win my freedom? Yes. Sounds like a deal," Hiei agrees and you five head to the address.

"Then come on. This is one house party we can't be late to," Botan urges.

"I'm gonna kick so much tail," Kuwabara boasts. Hiei laughs causing Kuwabara to shut up and insult his height, making you laugh a bit while running until you feel Hiei's glare on you.

At the mansion, you couldn't help but awe at the strange house while its origins are explained. You all head up there and you immediately notice the warning on the door.

"What's with this note? We can't say 'hot'?" Kuwabara asks.

"Let's keep that in mind. We must be careful," Kurama warns as he opens the door and enters.

"Indeed. This house was made by an abstract artist. It might trigger some booby trap or something," you add in blankly, following Kurama without hesitation and feeling the weird sensation from entering Kaito's territory.

"Geez, what is this? It's really h-," Botan starts to say before Kurama covers her mouth and reminds her of the taboo. You take off your jacket and tie it around your waist as you look around the room and its exotic theme with the random bookshelf in the middle.

"Kurama, did you notice?" Hiei asks him.

"Yes. The moment we came in, it's like we entered a totally absurd space," Kurama replies.

"Or another dimension almost," you suggest. Everyone looks at you weirdly, finally wondering about your strange comments.

"Welcome," Kaito greets as he reveals himself from behind the bookshelf.

"Him?! He was one of the three that kidnapped Urameshi!" Kuwabara cries incredulously.

"Kaito," you and Kurama say simultaneously, Kurama's in surprise while you just greet him with a nod, causing Hiei to looks at you suspiciously.

"What?! You two know this guy?!" Kuwabara continues to cry.

"We all have the same class. We're nor exactly friends, and of course, he's not supposed to know of Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara unless…" Kurama informs and looks at you.

"I didn't say anything. We just talked about books and junk. He's been published and I'm trying to get published. I said nothing about anything else. Plus, what exactly would you guys have done that I would know and make people want you dead?" you defend yourself waving your arms.

"It's not her fault," Kaito helps.

"Then tell me, how do you know about us?" Kurama asks followed by Kuwabara's incessant yelling.

"Why did you kidnap Yusuke?!" he shouted.

"**Someone** informed us. We've been told that you won the Dark Tournament," Kaito explains mysteriously while sitting down, book in hand. He then leans back and goes on, "Minamino, you're amazing. Not only are you gifted for studies, but you also have great powers. Don't you wanna make a demonstration? I'd like to see you manipulating plants. And you Ashley. Knowing about this and not saying anything."

"Who said what about me knowing what of powers and plant manipulation?" you ask innocently.

"She hasn't been told of anything Kaito. I don't appreciate you involving her either," Kurama informs with a glare.

"What's with the evil look? We never saw you like that at school. I recently discovered that I have a strange power. I'd like to test my measures, that's why I invited you to come here," Kaito informs.

"He's making fun of us? I'll show him. Do you know who you're messing with retard?" Hiei asks incredulously while pulling out his katana. You groan and cover your face in exasperation.

"Hiei calm down will you," you request, only to be ignored.

"I'd like to see…but you'll be wasting your time," Kaito remarks nonchalantly while reading his book.

"Shut up!" Hiei demands and launches his attack. He goes to slice him only to have his katana broken in half a foot away from Kaito while he just continues reading his book. Everyone but you and Kaito look in bewilderment at Hiei's broken blade. You sigh while shaking your head muttering temper over and over again.

"What does this mean? It broke on nothing," Hiei states.

"This room is a world where only words have strength. Here you won't have a choice but to fight according to the rules," Kaito explains.

"So I was right. We're practically in a different dimension," you comment. Kaito merely shrugs, not removing his eye from his precious book.

"Rules. You mean like the paper at the entrance," Kurama notes.

"That's right. One day I noticed that I was able to create a sort of space around me. In this place, physical violence won't work, against anything. Hiei, you may be the master of the sword and magic, but here you're nothing more than another height challenged twerp," Kaito informs.

"Hiei, be careful. He's provoking you," Kurama warns.

"Hiei don't fall for his mind games," you warn as well. Both you and Kurama call out his name as he steps forward and speaks his demise.

"So what happens when I say **hot**? Do I drop dead on the spot?" Hiei questions.

"Unfortunate, you talk too much," Kaito mumbles as Hiei's body begins to glow.

"Hiei?!" you all shout as you run towards him only to have Kurama put an arm out to hold you back.

"Stay back. We don't know what'll happen if you touch him," Kurama warns you. You push Kurama's arm away as Hiei's soul is sucked from his body and flies into Kaito's awaiting hand. You quickly catch Hiei's body as it begins to fall backwards. You sit down cross-legged and carefully lower Hiei's stiff body until he's lying down with his head in your lap.

"In my space, the one who says the forbidden word gets his soul sucked from him. Two down," Kaito states cockily.


	8. Taboo, traitors, and shadows

"Urameshi is on the 2nd floor and Hiei's soul is in my hand. So do you flee? Or do you prefer to fight?" Kaito asks. You ignore him and check Hiei's blue body with an alit probing hand to find that all of his vitals and systems are still working fine in demon terms, he's just a soulless body. You continued to ignore him as you pull out your mp3 and start it up, knowing that the 'silent game' was about to ensue. You hated tense silences so you would rather ignore it and pretend to pay attention, using your eyes to follow the mind battle's progress. You watch as Kurama asks if you get Hiei's soul back undamaged if you won. Kaito explains he doesn't know since he's never lost, followed by listing the two choices.

"No, there's a third choice," Kuwabara points out. He explains, "We leave Hiei here and we go ahead. It's the best choice."

"Bastard. What happened to honor codes and nobody gets left behind?" you question with a glare towards Kuwabara, never liking when he suggested that in the series. Botan quickly agrees with what you said.

"That's enough. Hiei always does as he pleases. He didn't even listen to Kurama's warning. I'm too fed up to waste time just for his sake," Kuwabara points out.

"I also think that's a good solution. You're not that dumb after all. And Ashley, I don't think I've ever heard you curse before. Unbecoming of a lady like yourself," Kaito agrees with Kuwabara.

"That's still no reason to leave a comrade behind Kuwabaka. I don't know how any of you met and I may not know Hiei like you do but that doesn't mean we should just leave him here! Kaito was messing with his head and his anger blinded him. I know it's happened to you too. And you! You know less than you think about me. I've already been told I shouldn't curse and that it doesn't suit me but that doesn't mean I won't if I'm annoyed or pissed off enough," you rant off in anger and yank out your ear buds, startling everyone still conscious.

"Either way, I'm ready," you hear Yanagisawa say from the first of the three doors. The other three look over to see him standing in front of the door, chewing gum.

"To go further, you have to go through that door. And he's the only one that has the key," Kaito explains. You watch as Kuwabara marches up to him and demands for the key while Yana refuses, popping his gum in Kuwabara's face.

"What about kicking me to get it back, lil Kuwabara," Yana taunts, waving the key in his face before slipping it back in his shirt pocket. This annoys Kuwabara and makes him go to punch Yana only to hurt his hand. "Don't you remember? We told you, you can't use violence. You have to be a good boy here," Yana continues to taunt while poking Kuwa in the forehead.

Kurama resigns to playing by their rules and everyone but you and Yana grab a chair to sit in while you put your ear buds back in, humming while the minutes tick by and keeping track of Hiei's vitals.

Kuwabara eventually gets fed up with the silence within an hour and asks Kurama if there was any way to beat him. Kurama tells him that there is but that you need to get Hiei's soul back. As the clock ticks by, some more silence follows before Kuwabara breaks it once again.

"We're not forced to not talk, we just can't say the taboo! Too easy! Kurama tell us, Who the hell is this guy?" Kuwabara points out and starts conversation while you just pull out your fans and hand Botan the wooden one while fanning yourself with the metal one.

"We're in the same class but he's never talked to anyone until a month ago when he started talking with Ashley-san on her first day. Since he's entered our school, he's been famous for his knowledge. He's the first real genius that our school has known," Kurama explains.

"Isn't that an indirect way to boast? You've always been ahead of me in exams, and Ashley's catching up to us pretty fast too," Kaito inputs while reading his book again.

"Perhaps, but you're a literary master. You've done essays on philosophy and literature. You're known among the best as a word specialist," Kurama reminds.

"So he's a erudite? Wouldn't tell by looking at him," Kuwabara comments. Kaito merely thanks him without much sign of acknowledgement other than a reply.

"I'm gonna die with this heat. All this just for us to say the **word**, he thinks we're idiots," Kuwabara thinks aloud.

"I sprout tropical plants. 85 degrees Fahrenheit with an 80% humidity. For those that are thirsty, there are cold drinks in the fridge and food in the cupboard," Kaito explains.

"Explains why it reminds me of home during the summer. Though I must admit it's usually much drier. It's more like late spring during the rainy season. I like it," you comment absentmindedly.

"Juices probably contain truth serum. You drink first," Kuwabara suggests.

"Hm… Truth serum. Didn't think of that. You're a sharp one," Kaito mutters.

"That supposed to be a compliment?!" Kuwabara asks.

"I'll get us some. I can't stand not doing anything," Botan offers and heads over to the mini-fridge after setting down the fan she had. "There's a lot in here. Kuwabara you want an orange juice?" Botan asks.

"Yeah sure," Kuwabara affirms.

"I'd like one as well," Kurama adds in.

"I'm fine, brought my own drink," you inform her, pulling out your bottled drink to state your point.

"Can you get me a glass and two straws so we can share it with each other?" Kuwabara requests.

"Grrr…Is that it?" Botan asks. Just then Kuwabara's body lit up and everyone turns to him as he jumps out of his seat and his soul is sucked from his body.

"That's another," Kaito mutters and catches his soul as well.

"But why?" Kurama asks.

"That's not fair, Kuwabara never said 'hot'!" Botan shouts stupidly. Kurama looks to her as she realizes what she said and her soul is taken as well and placed in Kaito's care.

"Rules are pretty strict here. For example, you can't say compound words with the taboo word in it and you also can't say words that have the sound or spelling of the taboo word," Kaito comments.

"I see. So that was why," Kurama trails off as he remembers what Kuwabara said.

"Heh. Souls are really quite beautiful. I particularly like the girl's color. You know, souls can't strengthen, they are beautiful but vulnerable. The one holding them don't have to do much to crush them and annihilate the person…What about trying? It's really tempting to see what you'd do," Kaito rants and places his hand above Hiei's and Botan's.

"Try it. Just to see my reaction. Let's say that my taboo is, if you try anything, I'll use everything in my power to kill you," Kurama threatens.

"Don't forget about me Kaito. You do anything to harm those souls and your own soul, body, and mind is forfeited to me. You'll only wish you were dead by the time I'm through with you. And there's nothing your territory can do to prevent it," you promise venomously with a glare to match.

"Finally you're serious," Kaito mutters.

"How long will you be able to last?" Kurama asks and produces the key Yanagisawa had.

"That's the key to the door?!!" Kaito exclaims in shock while you smirk.

"That's impossible! When did he do that?! But!" Yana sputters out and sees the vines on the ceiling.

"I'm sure you felt nothing. I just took it out of your pocket," Kurama assures.

"I follow the rules of your games, and it seems I can use my powers," Kurama notes. 'And so the game soon begins,' you think with the smirk still on your face.

"He had the plant pick-pocket me. So that's his power," Yana mutters in awe.

"Take good care of those souls. I'll get them back soon enough," Kurama informs as you set Hiei up near Botan and Kuwabara and grab a chair to plop in beside Kurama after retrieving your wooden fan. You adjust some and sit in your made up death note position that really seems to work for you like L's, pausing your mp3 for the moment.

"Tell me, can we change the taboo word? Neither of us will say it so it may take hours," Kurama asks.

"Yes. We can change it. I've wanted to do so for some time but I've been waiting until it was just the two of us. It seems that Ashley won't be falling for my tricks anytime soon though," Kaito tells him. You merely grunt the affirmative with that.

"If you let me choose the word, I promise you that in less than 26 minutes I will make you say it," Kurama challenges. You look at him through the corner of your eye and your eyes lock for a moment before you nod, telling him you were with him until the end, and both turn your attention back to Kaito.

"Is that so? And if in the end, I haven't said it?" Kaito inquires interestedly.

"I'll give you my soul. We have to finish it in 26 minutes, but if by the end of the time, neither of us says the word, you win. So what do you say? The odds are stacked in your favor, are you afraid?" Kurama deals.

"I'll join in too and you can have my soul as well should the time run out with all of us still conscious," you put your two cents in before a moment of silence follows as Kaito thinks of the pros.

"Fine. I accept your challenge. What is your taboo?" Kaito agrees.

"The taboo will consist of one letter. However, every minute we will add a letter. We will start with the letter 'z' then the letter 'y.' Every minute we go backward in the alphabet, gradually eliminating the possibilities letter by letter. It'll only take twenty six minutes to complete the alphabet," Kurama states, surprising Kaito.

"Heh. You're frightening, but this game seems like fun," Kaito comments and looks at the clock. "It's past midnight so we'll start at 1," Kaito informs. You nod and play your mp3 once again, knowing that not much will be said that's of major importance since you'll be keeping silent so you don't slip up. When the grandmother clock stroked one, a sheet of paper appeared to signal the start of the game. You pulled out your book of useless information and just sat reading it while you faintly heard Kaito babble on about the letters soon disappearing, absentmindedly singing the music with 'ah'.

You occasionally glance over at the paper to see eight letters gone and note Kaito walking into the bathroom. You shrug and glance at Kurama to see him looking at you from the corner of his eye while the rest of his body glowed slightly and the plants grew to envelope the entire room. You smile and wave at him with a wink, which he returns with a nod, then turn back to your book., no longer humming. You hear a thump and glance up to barely see Yana on the floor asleep and Kaito just come out of the bathroom through the foliage. You look beside you to see Kurama's chair empty and look up to see him on the chandelier. You quickly turn back to your book, seeming as if you're dead to the rest of the world, so Kaito doesn't know his location.

You watch through your lashes as Kaito bursts into the clearing Kurama left with you and the other three. Upon seeing you he backs up and stops in the center of the room, right below the chandelier while looking around to try and find where Kurama was hiding. You watch closely as Kurama lowers himself slowly and quietly with a minute remaining. Kurama shouts the last letter while Kaito tries not to scream. Then Kaito turns around, believing he won, only to lose when he sees Kurama's face, laughing his head off. You yourself had to bite your bottom lip to keep from saying anything at Kurama's face. When you feel the dimension disappear and your three friends' souls return, you let loose a small, drawn out chuckle while putting away your book and mp3.

"All right! We're back in the flesh! And no thanks to you Hiei!" Kuwabara exclaims while you still hide your chuckling and big grin behind your hand and Hiei replies with his monosyllable and avoids eye contact. This only adds to your chuckles and you burst out into a full out laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny Ashley-san?" Botan asks upon noticing my current state, drawing everyone else's attention towards me as I clutch my side.

"K-Kura-kun…H-His face a m-minute ago," you sputter out in between laughs. Your response confuses the three and Kurama explains calmly, though not showing or explaining the face he made while calling his plants back.

Soon enough, you find the key Kaito had and the note put up on the third door. Botan quickly scans the room for the third key with her psychic spyglass only to fail. You offer to go try to find it outside but the others dismiss the idea as unnecessary, stating how they wouldn't bother hiding it outside where it could be stolen or something. You roll your eyes when everyone turned their attention to Yanagisawa's waking form as they all crowd around him. You walk over to the group as well just as they all begin to converse.

"You had no chance of finding it, it's hidden at the base of a tree. You did well not forcing the door. If you had, Urameshi would be dead," Yana informs.

"Knew we should have checked outside," you mutter in a pout, earning a glare from Hiei as Kurama explains the note.

"The guy who designed this house was a freak. You'd have to be twisted to think of a room access with three doors," Kuwabara comments impatiently.

"Well, I can kind of understand it if someone was paranoid. With three doors, if an intruder were to barge in, they'd stall them and give the owner some time to get their stuff and leave a different way without being followed," you shrug.

You all eventually get past the third door, only to find the seven stairwells that lead to the same second floor room. Kuwabara screams in disbelief and Yana explains that everyone has to use a different stairway.

"And now what's waiting for us?" Kurama asks.

"You'll see. You can't do anything but what I say," Yana evades.

"Wait a minute! In case of problems, the seven detective tools. This one is number five: the label. These things come from the marking we do on prisoners so that we don't lose them. Only the one who stuck it on can take it off. Naturally, it removes itself in cases of death. The label's color changes according to the wearer's health status as follows: blue if everything's going well, yellow for minor injuries, and red for critical wounds. We all write our names on the labels and stick one on each of us. If something happens in the stairs, we'll know right away," Botan explains. Kurama looks to Yana for permission which he grants. Botan hands each of you four and you write your initials on them before placing one on Kurama's arm and Botan and Kuwabara's chests. You look to Hiei along with Botan and place your sticker on his chest with Kurama while he was distracted with stopping Botan from touching him.

You each take a different stairwell and you just close your eyes and follow the stairs, using your energy and hearing to guide you so you don't fall for the illusions. You soon reach the door to the second floor and enter it only a second before the others follow behind. You all gather closer and you stand close to Hiei and Kurama, staying a little away from Kuwabara.

"What are you doing just standing there, Urameshi?! We believed you were kidnapped!" Kuwabara questions.

"Don't come any closer! This guy has the power to immobilize his opponents by stepping on their shadow!" Yusuke warns.

"Exactly, but I'm not your enemy. He's among your friends," Kido puts out.

"What?" Kuwabara asks confusedly.

"Urameshi, there's an imposter among these five people…You've got ten minutes to find the imposter. The five of you can only answer the questions he asks you," Kido explains.

"An imposter. Is this a joke or what?!" Kuwabara exclaims.

"Its impossible for someone to disguise themselves so fast!" Botan adds in.

"I believe I told you to stay still. Don't forget that I have a hostage in my hands. If there's an imposter among you five, that means I've also got another hostage. If something happens to me, then we'll execute the hostage," Kido reminds.

"Everything seems to be well planned," Kurama notes.

"Only nine more minutes. What have you decided?" Kido wonders.

"You serious? There's really and imposter? But they all seem real," Yusuke tries to confirm. Kido's only reply was informing him how much time was left.

"Kuwabara, What's your birthday and blood type?" Yusuke asks.

"I'd be happy to tell you, but do you really know all that about me?" Kuwabara replies.

"Actually, I don't really know anything," Yusuke points out stupidly.

"Then why bother you idiot?!" Kuwabara asks angrily. You merely make a face plant in your hand and shake your head.

"What's your sister's name?" Yusuke starts questioning seriously.

"Shizuru. She's eighteen since the other day, she's stronger than me, and her type of guys is Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt," Kuwabara recites.

"Kurama! What's your mother's name?" Yusuke continues to question.

"Minamino Shiori. She's 40. She'll remarry this autumn," Kurama informs.

"Really?! That's great news! Am I invited?" Yusuke exclaims and Kido reminds them of the remaining time.

"Botan, give me all your measurements, in order!" Yusuke demands.

"What does that have to do with you?! I never told you any of that!" Botan cries incredulously.

"Of course you did. The other day, remember?" Yusuke tries to fib. Botan tries to remember and cries at him incredulously about him being a pervert.

"Hn. This game is just too stupid," Hiei comments.

"Hiei, tell me. What's your sister's name?" Yusuke turns on him.

"Telling you something you already know is pointless," Hiei informs.

"What?! Shrimp has a sis and Urameshi knows her?! She's probably as wild and stupid as her brother," Kuwabara comments, ticking off Hiei. Everyone tries to get off the subject until about five minutes are left.

"Don't you hate when people think you're an only child and then make a big deal over it when they find out you have a sibling?" You ask Hiei.

"Ashley. Where are you from and what's your favorite animal, mystical and real?" Yusuke turns to you.

"What me? I'm from Dallas, Texas and my favorite real animals are the fox, wolf and monkey. My favorite mystical animals are the phoenix and dragon species and the first thing you guys heard from me was me singing 'Life is like a boat'," you inform.

"Are you sure there's an imposter?" Yusuke asks only to be ignored again. Yusuke then notices the stickers you all were wearing. Botan and Yusuke explain them again and everyone goes to take them off to find who can't. You roll your eyes muttering how it was pointless under your breath but remove your stickers anyways.

"We all succeeded in taking them off!" Kuwabara cries the obvious.

"That's impossible! The imposter shouldn't be able to take them off!" Botan cries in disbelief.

"There never was an imposter. He's been playing us this whole time," Hiei decides but you notice his eyes dart towards you suspiciously before turning forward again.

"Oh, there's one. Without a doubt there's one among you. If you don't succeed in uncovering him. It means you don't need the real one. The real one can die and you wouldn't even notice anything," Kido corrects.

Soon the time was up and when Yusuke couldn't provide an answer to who's fake, Kido tells him what his last chance to find the original one was. At their astonished expressions, Kido explains that the only way to undo Yanagisawa's copy was to inflict pain, hence punching them with all his strength, reminding him that he only had one chance. A few more explanations later from Kido and Yusuke sprinted towards you five, choosing which was the imposter. He punched Kuwabara to show that he was, indeed, the imposter.

"You were clear-sighted. How did you know?" Kido asks.

"He was the easiest one for me to hit. There's not much more to it," Yusuke explained.

"Tch. I see…" Kido replies before Yusuke continues.

"Plus, Hiei and Kurama aren't idiots that can be captured as easily as us, and though I don't know her too well, Ashley probably wouldn't have been captured as easily either. That left Kuwabara and Botan," Yusuke continued.

"Does that make you happy Hiei?" Kurama asked him quietly while you hid your own laughter and Hiei told you both to shut up.

"If you'd ever been so cowardly as to take Botan, then I'd have to come back to slaughter you. That's why I chose Kuwabara," Yusuke elaborates further. You could hear Botan go all teary eyed at Yusuke's somewhat sentimental words for her.

"Wonderful. I'm very impressed," Kido applauds.

"Shut up and tell us where Kuwabara is!" Yusuke demands,

"Don't worry. I'll give you back Kuwabara. We'll take the chance to introduce our behind the scenes mastermind as well," Kido assures as the double doors behind him open.

"What?! Genkai?! You're the mastermind?! You better have a good reason for this. We want more than just a simple answer," Yusuke shouts incredulously. You watch as explanations are given about Genkai wanting to introduce the trio and their powers and when Kurama first noticed there was something to their motives.

"I still don't understand the reason. Why all the fuss for making introductions?" Hiei questions.

"The four of you are really strong. No human can beat you face-to-face. But I wanted to make you conscious that there is a way to defeat you. Hiei, if you really fought against Kaito he wouldn't stand a chance, but he took your soul. You lacked vigilance. The same goes for you Yusuke," Genkai explained. Yusuke tried to explain he wouldn't have gotten caught if he knew of Kido's abilities but was rewarded with a scolding from Genkai.

"Ok, but who's the enemy? Apparently they aren't so who is?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes. And speaking of Kaito, I noticed that at one moment, there was a demonic scent that appeared a few times just a little after Kaito took Hiei's soul. It was similar to the one me and Yusuke sensed a couple of weeks ago at Genkai's temple, but all three of them are human without an ounce of demon on them. In fact, a small trace of that scent is still on your clothes Hiei," Kurama informs. You look at him blinking before realizing that he was talking about you.

"Hmph. I'm surprised you were able to hide it this long from them child," Genkai addresses you.

"I must admit, I'm a little surprised myself, Master Genkai. I was worried when he stopped questioning me and thought that he had already figured it out and didn't need anymore answers," you confess a bit while rubbing the side of your neck.

"Hold on, I'm totally confused here. Can someone explain to me what you two are talking about?" Yusuke pleads, voicing the confusion everyone but you two were feeling.


	9. Revelations, Murata, and Bastet

"The fact is that ever since a few weeks ago, I've been training with Master Genkai to fight, as I told you Kurama. But I've not only been learning hand-to-hand combat, but also in strengthening and refining my demon powers. I'm sorry I've hid this from all of you. I am a demon, though I'm not exactly sure what kind, but even so I didn't even know this until my first visit to Genkai's temple. It seems she was only able to tell because of the wards she has and they were sealed away ever since I was an infant. Genkai released that seal for me and trained me on how to control my demon abilities," you explain a little solemnly.

"How do we know you're telling the truth? You could just be making all this up," Botan asks. You look at Genkai for permission and she nods. You nod in return before taking off your tank top to reveal a second, low back spaghetti strap underneath. You breathe in deeply as you reveal your wings and uncover your demon aura. You look around at everyone to see most of them in awe and amazement at your wings and energy level.

"Now do you believe me? This is why I've been hanging around with Shizuru, Yukina and Genkai so much this past month. I've learned to access many of my abilities and have strengthened each and every one of them as the month went on, eventually gaining my wings that you see before you. I've learned to fight, and I've learned to heal thanks to Yukina and her teachings. I told you, I greatly dislike feeling like dead weight that either brings down everyone else, or does absolutely nothing. I've always been so weak and useless that I can't even help myself so when I saw the chance to get enough strength to care for myself, I went for it," you elaborate more emotionlessly.

"Now that that is explained, let's get back to the subject we were discussing on who the enemy is. You can return to your human form child," Genkai interrupts.

"Well, in fact, when we became conscious of our strength, we went to Genkai for advice. We knew of Urameshi by reputation through his school fights, we learnt after that he had powers too. But if we have this strength, it's because of the hole of darkness," Kido explains.

"Hole of darkness?" Botan repeats.

"Yes. The evil tunnel. It seems some spiritual heirs of Sakyo are on earth," Genkai elaborates.

"What?!" Yusuke cries.

"The old woman told me everything. There are guys trying to open the door of darkness, a huge and sinister door that opens the evil tunnel," Kuwabara puts in finally, walking in wearing only his undergarments.

"Your tragic air doesn't match your looks," Yusuke informs him.

"But Sakyo's dead. Who's at the cause of all that?" Botan asks while Kuwabara retrieves his clothes from Yana.

"Sakyo is indeed dead, but when you think about it, among the leaders, some were close to Sakyo. It's also possible that there were some survivors," Genkai informs.

"It's still incredible. I don't know if the importance of this space, but the simple fact to arrive there is frightening," Kurama says.

"If it was that easy, I'd have gone back to the Makai long ago," Hiei remarks.

"Better be sure about it. Do you mind going to see it?" Genkai returns.

"Mushiyori town?! But that's really close to here," Kuwabara points out a little while later.

"Its true that something like this probably takes quite some time to develop. Who know, it may not even have progressed as far as we think," you put in with your hand cupping your chin in thought. Soon enough, Botan's suitcase starts beeping, signaling that Koenma was calling them for this very problem.

"Botan! Is Yusuke with you?! There's an emergency!" Koenma calls desperately.

"We're all here. Is it about the tunnel?" Genkai replies to him.

"Oh, its you, Genkai?" Koenma confirms upon sight. He then continues, "Yes. This famous passage is enlarging artificially at high speed! We learnt about it with some delay."

"We're already beginning to see it influences on some humans. Some are already conscious of their powers. In just a month, about thirty humans went to me to get advice. Most of them are from Mushiyori," Genkai reports.

"That this evil is limited to only Mushiyori is a chance, but they are already at the second stage," Koenma mopes.

"Second stage?! What does that mean?!" Yusuke asks.

"There are four stages before this tunnel's passage is fully open," Koenma informs and explains three of the stages leading up to the last stage.

"The last stage?! And then what happens?!" Yusuke demands.

"Demons from B and C class can go freely between the Ningenkai and Makai. For example, Toguro was from the B class," Koenma explains gravely.

"Only the B class?! You mean he wasn't one of the strongest?!" Yusuke asks frightened.

"Yes, and there's more even worse. There's the A class, and even more frightening, the S class. Even we can't do anything against the S class demons," Koenma confirms, growing graver by the second.

"The Makai is vast and deep. We in the Reikai only take care of a small part of this world. For example, we only take care of half of the first level. You must think of the Makai as a reversed tower with many levels," Koenma continues, frightening Botan and Yusuke more and more.

"It's like an underground skyscraper. The average power levels of demons there must get higher and higher the deeper you go. From D's and below on the first level to C, then B, and so on," you round up while crouching by the screen.

"Exactly. The risk is too high to just let it go. We have to widen our field of influence each year. This passage is protected by a powerful spell for the time being, so it won't let demons from the A and S classes pass through. This spell remains open to low-level monsters, but in any case, we mustn't allow A and S class demons come to earth," Koenma orders.

Yusuke voices his thoughts while Kurama and Hiei remain quiet and Kuwabara goes unheard in his wanting to know what's going on. Koenma orders everyone to prevent the passage from growing anymore and to find whoever's making the tunnel grow while the Reikai does what it can.

"Whether we want to find them or not, it's clear that they'll attack us, simply because we might bother them," Genkai assures. As the night progresses, Kaito's soul and body are returned and everything is explained to Kuwabara along with more information. Introductions are properly made with the trio of special humans and more details are given about the tunnel, stating that there were, at most, three weeks until the fourth stage. It's finalized that the only way to stop this was to find the one behind this and stop them before it got too big. Yusuke then begins to start a plan of action, only to be hit over the headed and scolded by Genkai once again about the lesson she'd just taught him.

"Koenma, I also have a question," Hiei states, attracting everyone's attention.

"What am I? Which category and I in? What's my actual classification?" he demands, startling everyone slightly.

"Actually, you're in the middle B class. Toguro was in the Upper B class," Koenma informs him.

"Hn. Then you underestimate me," Hiei comments. Koenma explains that when he first me Yusuke he was only in Upper D class and that it was quite an achievement to climb that high in only six months. Hiei dismisses that supposed compliment and heads out, stating that he didn't care what happened to the Ningenkai and that he wasn't gonna help or stand in the way of closing the tunnel.

"Hiei!!" Kuwabara calls after him. "Do you really believe what you're saying?" he asks seriously.

"Yes. I'll go back to the Makai," Hiei replies and leaves.

"That bastard! I wouldn't have believed that out of him! He really is like this," Kuwabara bursts out in anger.

"He'll come around, at the moment we won't be able to figure it out on our own," Yusuke assures.

"He seemed perturbed. The proximity of the Makai must have some consequence on him," Kurama puts in.

"I think we should let him be. We don't know what the enemy has in store for us. We must avoid any risky individual moves. Now it's time to go to sleep," Genkai suggests.

"He's probably just sulking because of how low his power level is according to Koenma. Speaking of which, Koenma, what class am I in, just curious?" you ask before the connection with him was broken.

"Hm? And who are you?" Koenma asks upon finally noticing your unfamiliar face.

"Name's Ashley Silica from Texas. I just recently found out and started training my demon powers after removing some seal on them. I don't know what kind of demon I am or my power level so if you have that info, I'd like to know. I'm not as touchy with outcomes like Hiei," you inform him with a reassuring smile.

"Ah yes, Ashley. Botan's told me about you. Let's see. Currently your power level is probably near the borderline for upper C class and Lower B class. You're breed of demon seems to be composed of many different demons in your family's complex history line. I'm not sure what exactly you'd be classified as for that," Koenma explains, going through some papers on his desk. You thank him and cut off the connection as you all head to bed for some much needed rest.

Two days later, you all split up into two groups and you headed off with Genkai, Yusuke, Yana, and Kido. The five of you all walk around the city and look at all the insect demons and Kido explains how he wants to protect Mushiyori.

"I've been meaning to ask, Why did Ashley have to go with us? She could have gone with Kurama and Kuwabara just as easily," Yusuke asks you and Genkai.

"Because, dimwit, with her here the intelligence level is evened out. Plus, with her here searching for clues or perpetrators in the city, we have a small advantage with her ability to detect lies and almost read minds," Genkai explains. Suddenly you five feel yourselves enter someone's space by a Ma-Jong club and you kept your mind blank of information. You all entered it and saw four players and two employees. You weren't sure if he could reach past your mental barrier so you just kept your mind blank, other than what was said being repeated, while Yusuke and Kido talk about who might have the powers. You watch as the man with his back to you defeats the other three easily while they give up for losing however many times to him.

"And you over there? What do you want from me?" he asks and gets up, facing us. "You have some powers too?" he continues questioning while the employees warn him to not bother customers.

"I don't know why you're here, but I don't want to hear crap," he states stubbornly with a cocky smirk.

"We're looking for guys that are digging a hole. A huge hole," Yusuke informs.

"The thing you call 'The hole of darkness,'" he confirms after a slight pause.

"You know something?" Kido exclaims.

"You were talking about it earlier, in your thoughts," he explains simply.

"His power is to read minds," Kido points out.

'If you can really read my mind. Wink at me Murata,' you think to yourself and watch Murata closely. You don't see him react or even glance your way so you relax some, knowing that he can't read your mind anymore than being blank. You watch as the others talk about what else he may have hidden and Kido steps up to fight him.

Kido tries, and fails, to step on Murata's shadow, only succeeding in being punched five times and ending up on the floor while the employees start to call the police. This little display alone proves that Murata wasn't bluffing as he states how Kido wasn't going to step on his shadow.

"You want to continue? I'm only an amateur boxer. My power allows me to read thoughts. Thanks to that, I'll capture the world. It doesn't really seem like it takes much to capture you though. Not with that blank mind," Murata admits in a battle ready boxing position and addressing you.

"My thoughts can't speak for my actions. I don't usually think before acting or know what I'm doing or why until I do it," you clarify in a half lie.

"It seems like you're telling the truth. Now we must know if you're with us or against us," Yusuke confronts him as the two employees continue to freak out. Yusuke then explains Yanagisawa's power and asks if he'll put his power in their services or anything. Murata refuses and Yusuke takes his jacket off to prepare to fight him.

Yusuke tells Murata exactly what he's going to do to him and Murata reads his mind to see if it's a bluff. After finding that its not, Yusuke asks if he's ready and disappears from Murata's sight for a second before stopping in front of him and jabbing out his right, stopping right before it hits him and pulling back. You watch as his spirit energy hits Murata instead and knocks him out cold.

"Amazing…I didn't see anything," Kido comments.

"It seems like he was only at 1/3 of his strength," Genkai adds in from beside Yana and you.

"I paid attention. I must have hit him with the shockwave," Yusuke says. Yana copies Murata and confirms that he's clean. Genkai suggests using his power while you sweat drop and laugh a little as the two frantic employees freak out even more. Once Murata wakes up, you all leave and go to the shopping district. Everything is cleared up with his name and ability's extent and Murata reads everyone's thoughts. You look around dully and sigh as Murata points out the girl that wants to date her co-worker. You suddenly see Sensui towering over the crowd along with a strange woman after about 45 minutes. You sense demonic energy from the woman and try to see her face but fail because of her coat's hood and her curly blonde hair. You look around some more and make it seem like you were looking at them just as much as those two.

'I wonder who that woman is. She doesn't seem to look like anyone from the series. And I know that there aren't any blonde women helping Sensui originally, unless my presence is being compensated for with her and something happened along the storyline,' you think to yourself as Murata senses Sensui's thoughts.

"Murata?" Yusuke asks and you turn to see his shaking form.

"They…They're here. It's so horrible," Murata explains and clutches his head. You stiffen slightly when he says "they." He then elaborates, "These voices are stronger than all the others. A calm and strong voice. One male and one female. I've never heard voices so sinister."

"Which ones? Don't point, tell me what direction and describe them," Yusuke urges.

"On the right. They're tall. The man dressed in black and the woman with him in the hood," Murata informs hesitantly. Sensui and the woman are soon spotted and Sensui looks your way, hitting Murata in the forehead with an unseen attack. In a rush, he's found as the leader and Murata is taken to the hospital. You just barely caught a glimpse of the woman's face and saw a delicately beautiful structure smirking with deep purple cat eyes, framed by her perfect mass of blonde curls and violet headband…

"He said, "With the seven of us, we'll dig a tomb for everybody. And the eight words: Dark Angel, Gate Keeper, Cat Leader, Sniper, Gourmet, Game Master, Doctor, and Seaman. That was about the only interesting information. The rest were just murderous thoughts. The woman was just thinking around the same but with the words pathetic humans added in. I'd like for you to just leave me alone for now. I don't want to die," Murata explains after his head was fixed.

"The eight words. Those must be their nicknames," Kido states.

"Most likely. The nicknames must have something to do with their powers," Genkai confirms.

"But what about dark angel. I can see the others but dark angel must have his own abilities without the help of the tunnel. The dark angel leads the others to the world's end. That's probably that man's nickname for that reason since he's the leader. The woman's probably cat leader too. I could sense that she was a demon and her eyes were like a cat's but purple…But he said seven of us. Not eight," You input thoughtfully now that you think about it.

"Maybe so, but we can't be sure about anything," Genkai reminds.

"Yusuke, you didn't chase him? I'm surprised. Have you matured a little?" Genkai addresses Yusuke.

"…I wasn't able to do it. I understood it immediately. We better watch out with this guy. He has a cynical gaze. The kind of guy who waits blankly for his prey. I felt that if Toguro was upright, this guy looked rather deceitful," Yusuke explained.

"I think you're right. I felt the same thing. I'd say even more, that he's the kind who'll reveal himself at the last moment. He'll show his power only to finish off his victim. I know it wasn't him who shot Murata," Genkai confirms and explains that his head turn was just a signal for the sniper.

"But what did he shoot me with?" Murata asked.

"This single piece of gum," Genkai answers and holds up the small wad. Genkai then explains how the gum still had spirit energy that you could clearly see and how he hardened the gum by concentrating his spirit energy and how he was about 500 meters away. You looked at the piece of gum in slight wonder as it glowed with Sniper's spirit energy. 'I'll never get over the fact that he can do that. It still amazes me slightly at how well he can control spirit energy in less than a month where just a piece of gum is as hard and powerful as a sniper bullet.' You think and snap out of it before making a fool of yourself.

You then quickly realize something as you suddenly remember the little occurrences not much further in the series. 'Ah, man…Where's the doc? How could I have been so air-headed from a piece of gum?' you think as the doctor opens his territory and sends his syringe insect things.

"Ow!" you hear Yana and Murata exclaim and look over to see the insects on their hands just before Yana kills his. Their skin quickly turns an eerie green tint as you curse under your breath. The two collapse while stating how cold they are and their pain while Kido notes their extremely high fevers.

"What was that nasty bug?" Yusuke asks Genkai

"An insect from the Makai…A virus? It confirms our suspicions about the doctor. Be careful, there must be more than two," Genkai informs.

"Many more than just two. His territory must reach the entire hospital, that way he can stay hidden within it," you exclaim and point around to the millions more syringe bugs.

"We're surrounded. They're everywhere," Kido comments and a nurse came to see if Murata and Yana were ok. You generally ignore her and keep looking around rapidly to watch for attacking bugs. You quickly summon a little of your energy into your index finger and sharpen it into a fine dagger that surrounded your finger in a cool purple light.

"Thanks for taking care of those two!" Yusuke shouts to the nurse as you four dart past her and you destroy the insects on her right shoulder quickly while Kido swats away the rest.

Yusuke and Genkai quickly plan to just hit every doctor they meet and everyone spits up to make the search quicker for Yana and Murata's sake. You all decide who checks where and you quickly dart away in the direction of the area you were assigned and swinging your right arm to kill each insect with precision and accuracy. 'Yusuke and the others can take care of the doctor. I thought I sensed an evil demon energy on one of the upper floors. It might be that woman,' you think and speed up while hitting any and all insects in your path. You stop on the floor you sense the energy coming from strongest and find yourself on the roof. You easily spot the lone figure of the woman standing in the center of the roof.

"Who are you?" you shout over at her and get into a defensive stance after closing the door, not feeling like having a chance of falling down them if she knocked you backwards with an attack.

"My name is unimportant. You may call me, Cat leader. Or if you prefer an actual name, then you may call me, Sekhmet," she replies politely with a silky smooth voice and turns to face you with a smile.

"One of the names of the Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet?" you inquire with a raised eyebrow, still keeping your stance up and lengthening your purple energy blade to cover your hand and form a sword.

"Hm, hm. Yes, very few beings seem to know of the cat goddess's many names. May I ask how you know of them?" She confirms casually as your hair billows in the wind.

"I read a lot of books. What are you doing here in Ningenkai?" you continue to interrogate her with your cold, hard stare.

"Don't worry, puppet. I am not here for your friends. It seems I've taken an interest in you. I must warn you, these next few events leading up to our main battle will be changed from Dark Angel's original plans. I'm adding a little something in all of them, just for you. Feel honored scum," she explains and disappears before you could ask her anything else. You're eyes quickly look everywhere and you spread your senses to try and find her, only to see that she was gone all together. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion as you lower your stance and head back inside and down to where you sensed Yusuke.


	10. Doctor, 10 Q's, and second encounters

You catch the scent of blood and run faster in the hospital to see a crowd of doctors and nurses with Yusuke standing near the middle and looking down while thinking aloud. You shout Yusuke's name and push your way through until you're standing beside him to see Dr. Kamiya kneeling near a paralyzed and bleeding Kido.

"Kido, tell me where he is! What does he look like?!" Yusuke asks him and kneels down by him. You clench your fists near your chest in anger as you watch the spectacle while a doctor tells Yusuke to be quiet since Kido was 'in shock.' Yusuke tells him to hang in there and starts to get up when Kido activates his territory and freezes you both in place. Yusuke talks to Kido more, misunderstanding his attempt at helping Yusuke.

"Damn it. This would be hell of a lot easier if Murata or even Hiei was here. Then one of them could read his mind," Yusuke mutters.

"Agreed. I can only put up mental barriers to keep people out. Genkai was never able to teach me on how to invade others minds before this all happened unless they already had telepathic abilities or demon energy," you agree. You watch as Kido's shadow moves and spells out Kamiya using the blood that spilt from his wrist.

"Kamiya?! That's the name of the culprit?" Yusuke asks. Next thing you know, blood spatters against you as Kamiya kills all the doctors present.

"Change of plan. I have to kill all humans in the hospital," he states with an evil look. Yusuke asks Kido to release us and we both jumped away in time before being sliced up by the crazed doctor. Yusuke thinks aloud to himself about Kido's condition while Kamiya rants in disappointment at how he wanted to pretend to be the nice doctor.

"Damn. I've already been cut open with a scalpel once in my life and I would prefer not to be cut open again!" You shout out and make your energy blade appear again before slicing a virus infector in half.

"The virus issued from my mind is very powerful. The weaker the victim, the quicker they die. I guess your friends still have around ten minutes," Kamiya explains before Yusuke points out that he'll be dead by then.

Yusuke then charges him and performs a series of punches, knocking him to the floor. After a little talking, Kamiya hops back up and launches his own assault, only succeeding in cutting Yusuke once on the cheek before Yusuke retaliates with an uppercut to the stomach, knocking him into the wall. Kamiya only smirks while you watch them converse a little more about how he strengthened his pain endurance and blocks out pain.

Yusuke then just attacks him with his spirit gun, cutting off his left arm and stating that the next one was fatal. Kamiya merely patches himself back up, shocking Yusuke.

"Despite my power, the only thing I can do is to kill. I think powers are intimately related to the user's personality," Kamiya explains with his evil smile never leaving his face. You growl out and start to attack, only to yelp out as your hands and feet are bound by large boxes. The one attached to your hands show a screen that lights up and starts showing words.

"Ashley! You ok over there?!" Yusuke shouts over to you.

"Yeah, no problem. Just a little, tied up at the moment. You just deal with the quack," you dismiss and wince slightly as you feel something dig into your wrists and ankles. You look at the screen and see some instructions stating that you would solve a few puzzles that would get harder and harder until you solved ten in a row. If you missed one, the metal spikes inside the box would dig deeper and the boxes would spread to cover your body while your completed score would go back to zero.

"Damn it," you mutter and watch as the first riddle appears.

'_Question 1:_

_What does 1 and 3 equal?'_

"B," you solve quickly and watch as your score goes up to one and the next question appears.

'_Question 2:_

_If the size of a prison cell door was 2.5 meters by 3 meters, with the measurement of each bar being 3 meters tall and 8.5 cm wide in diameter and having 16 bars spaced 2 cm apart, what type of key will open the cell door?'_

"A skeleton key," you answer it. Your score goes up to two and the next question shows. You continue like this as the questions get harder and harder until you end up missing one when you reach 6 points. You bite your lip and hold in the scream as the spikes inside dig deeper into your small wrists and ankles and the boxes creep up slowly to cover half of your shins and forearms, digging in small spikes of their own.

You continue to solve the many riddles and questions as they get even more difficult and your body is encased with the boxes and more pain when you miss one. You scream out in searing agony finally, as you miss one your third time and the spikes in your wrists and ankles dig so deep that you can feel how close they are to meeting in the center of your bone due to how small your ankles were.

"Ashley!" Yusuke shouts to you and runs over, having finished dealing with Kamiya and stopping the virus from killing everyone. "What the hell is this?!" he exclaims at the contraption encasing your body. You shush him and go back to answering the questions while they all approach. You finally get up to nine points and quickly read the last question carefully.

'_Question 10:_

_What are all four names of the Egyptian cat goddess?'_

"Ah shit! Let's see um…Bastet, Sekhmet, Mafdet, and…man what's the last one…oh! Menhit!" you answer after trying to remember all of them. They weren't commonly used so you had to concentrate to remember the two M names. At the sound of your answer, the device beeped once before you feel all the spikes jerk out swiftly, making you scream, and the boxes quickly retract until they were no more. You collapse and breath heavily from the pain and quickly bring up your arm through the pain to emit a cool blue light as you place it on your left wrist to heal while Genkai does the same with your legs.

"What happened child? How did you end up in that position?" Genkai asks and continues healing your major wounds.

"I heard a scream and smelt blood near Yusuke's and Kido's position. I headed for there and when I arrived, Kido was on the ground and surrounded by doctors with Yusuke near him. Kido eventually figured out a way to tell us which doctor was behind this and he killed all witnesses. Yusuke and the doc fought some as he revealed more and more of his powers and when I was about to join in, that stupid contraption latched onto my wrists and ankles and I had to solve ten riddles and questions in a row or else some metal spikes or something would dig deeper into my skin as you see here. One of the ones I missed was as stupid but difficult as the world's hardest tongue twister. I knew it but couldn't say it five times fast. It was no doubt set up by the Cat leader seeing as what that last question was," you explain and slowly get up with Yusuke's help.

"-hiss- Man, this hurts so much more than being cut open with a scalpel," you hiss out with a wince at the pain in your lower legs. You instinctively latch onto Yusuke's neck as you feel the floor come out from under you, only to find that Yusuke had picked you up bridal style. "Warn me next time, will ya!" you shout at him but he doesn't even laugh like the normal, carefree, delinquent you grew fond of. Yusuke just apologized and followed Genkai out of the hospital, eyes narrowed seriously and looking straight ahead.

"Rest for now child, with those wounds you won't be much help. Rest and let your demon energy take effect, it's already adapted to healing at it's intended pace, they'll be gone by the time you wake up," Genkai informs as you all leave the hospital.

"…Yusuke? What did you apologize for? Was it for startling me when you picked me up?" you asked worriedly and look up at him.

"No…I'm sorry I got you into this mess. If none of this ever happened, you wouldn't be involved and you wouldn't be so injured," Yusuke explains and looks down as his eyes soften.

"It's not your fault Yusuke. I put myself in this position. I'm the one that asked Genkai to train me, I'm the one that was stubborn and went with the others to help you instead of just going back to Kurama's house, and I'm the one that specific attack was directed towards. I brought this upon myself…Now stop being so hard on yourself, nothing that's happened to you in your life is your fault, trust me," you correct him comfortingly and rest your head on his shoulder as exhaustion sweeps over you. 'I'm the one that went along with that game. If I'd never written down those initials, I wouldn't be here and that cat demon probably wouldn't be here either. I contacted Genkai to not be a burden and I only become more of a burden to them,' were your last thoughts before drifting off to sleep.

You woke up some time later with Yusuke still carrying you as you feel a lot better. You look at your body to see that the many holes in your limbs were now nothing more than a few pinpricks and hardly noticeable scars that would disappear soon enough. You look around you to see that you were in the Kuwabara residence, more specifically, the living room on Yusuke's lap while he sat on their couch.

"How did I get here?" You ask and rub your eyes.

"About time you woke up," you here coming from Yusuke. You look up to see him grinning down at you amusedly.

"Yusuke? Are you back to normal, rambunctious Yusuke? Serious, deadly Yusuke scares me a bit," you question brightly making him laugh.

"You sure do know how to lighten the mood Ashley-chan. We were thinking you wouldn't wake up for another hour at least," you hear and look around to see that everyone was there but Kido, Hiei, Keiko, and Yukina. You find that the voice came from Kurama, who sat smiling amusedly.

"You wouldn't let go of Urameshi either. For being a heavy sleeper, you sure do have a strong grip. You were basically glued to him," Kuwabara informs teasingly with a matching grin.

"Ah, get off it. I like the two of you equally, Kuwa-kun," you retort with a sly and playful grin. You then hop off of Yusuke and stand up, stretching and popping your back and rolling your shoulders.

"So what's been cracking since Yusuke killed the crazy quack and I past out to heal? How long have I been out anyways?" you ask everyone and plop down in the empty seat next to Yusuke.

"Genkai and Yusuke just told us what happened earlier today. If I understand correctly, you've been asleep for about two hours or so. As I was saying, we were followed as well. I didn't do anything thinking that it was a trap," Kurama explained and turned his attention to Genkai for the last part.

"We heard Yusuke's and Master Genkai's side of the story, but I'd like to know yours Ashley-san. We heard what you told them, but I'd like a more in depth explanation to the Cat leader's actions and how you figured it out from just the last question," Kaito adds in, directed towards you.

"Well…The last question was 'What were the four names of the Egyptian cat goddess?' I suppose game master could have made it too, but I didn't feel anyone open their territory. Yanagisawa's territory is limited to his hands and Murata already had his opened. Also, while I was searching the upper floors of the hospital, I felt a demon energy on the roof and checked it out…I found the woman that Murata heard murderous thoughts from. She introduced herself as the Cat Leader as well as an actual name…Sekhmet…I thought it was one of the four names of the Cat goddess Bastet and she confirmed it, asking how I knew of her other names when very few being knew of them. I merely told her I read a lot of books and asked why she was here. Her exact words were, 'Don't worry, puppet. I am not here for your friends. It seems I've taken an interest in you. I must warn you, these next few events leading up to our main battle will be changed from Dark Angel's original plans. I'm adding a little something in all of them, just for you. Feel honored scum.'

"Then before I could do anything, she just up and vanished from the premises. I didn't see any point in following so I continued checking the floors until I heard a scream and found Yusuke and Kido. While Yusuke was fighting the doctor up until he explain that he could heal himself, I was watching and waiting for a chance to jump in if Yusuke needed my help though I doubted he would. I was about to jump in from frustrations when this, **thing**, came out of nowhere and clamped around my hands and feet, binding them together. It said I had to answer questions until I got ten in a row correct, and when I missed one, I had to start over with different questions and the box-thing would spread and dig metal spikes deeper and deeper for each I got wrong. The first one was as simple as a children's riddle, '1 and 3 equal B,' but it kept getting harder and harder as they went," you explained with little butchering since there wasn't much that told of your knowledge in these events.

"You met her? Did she do anything to you?" Kurama asks seriously with a hint of worry in his voice and eyebrows.

"No. She merely wanted to talk it seemed. It was as if she was giving me a warning of what's to come. I think she's one of those people that like to watch their prey suffer physically, and also writhe in emotional distress and paranoia at the thought of what might come next. I'll keep my senses up, but I know better than to let my emotions get the better of me in these situations. Worry more about the major problem we have instead of my well-being. Otherwise, we will lose this battle," you inform just as seriously with determination and calculation seeping into your eyes. Kurama just nods his head in reluctant agreement before returning to the main subject at hand. Not much later, you changed clothes and left with Kurama to head home.

Two days passed uneventfully until one day when Kurama didn't appear at school. You hardly paid attention to class all day and just let your mind wander to where Kurama went. Neither the book nor the televised series told of where he went when he disappeared today, that you could remember anyways, so you couldn't help but wonder. At lunch, you just barely heard Kaito ask where Kurama was and what was wrong with you as you stared off into nothingness while eating and leaning on your left hand.

"Huh?…Oh, sorry. I'm just wondering where Kura-kun is too," you mumbled and felt your face grow warm against your hand.

"Hm. I was hoping you knew. Oh, well. So, how have you been holding out with all of this?" Kaito asked, changing subjects.

"I'm fine. Last night I trained more at Genkai's and the night before I took a break to heal more and not worry Kura-kun's mom too much. Thanks to everything happening, I was able to get farther on that book I'm writing. I've already got several chapters more, admittedly I had to change the demons and humans part to deal with vampires, gods and goddesses that have turned against the others as well as change up the names of course," you reply, eagerly taking the invitation.

The rest of lunch consisted of more talking involving books like before, and your training's progress. Afterwards, the rest of the school day went on like the first half, though you were able to think less on the subject of Kurama's whereabouts and more on your training progress and current abilities. After school, you quickly found Yusuke and Botan waiting for you and you three grabbed Kaito before getting Yana and Genkai and heading over to Yusuke's apartment.

It started to pour by the time you all reached the apartment and you watched from beside Genkai as Yusuke threw a hissy fit over Kurama and Kuwabara's absents before Genkai tried knocking sense into him while Kaito and Yana added in their own knowledge. He soon left to play pachinko and you just sipped tea peacefully as you thought about what was going on with Kuwabara and his three friends. The night trudged on slowly while you kept quiet and played out Kuwabara's fight against Mitarai as he regained his powers. Your eye would even twitch in the ghost of a wince every time Kuwabara or the others would take a beating or other serious attack, like Okubo being stabbed in the leg.

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore and closed your eyes, spreading your senses until you found Kuwabara's mind along with his friends and Mitarai. You were glad when Genkai finally taught you how to find and invade another's mind by practicing on reading hers, finding Yukina's in the temple, and Hiei's for a more difficult challenge. It came as no surprise when you found him sitting idly in a tree somewhere in the forest. You continued to watch through their minds as Mitarai just stabbed Okubo in the leg. You were jogged out of this when you felt someone place a hand on your shoulder. You look up to see Kurama, just noticing that he'd arrived, as he asks you if anything was wrong, saying how you were twitching and stuff. You tell him you were fine and give him a reassuring smile just as Yusuke comes in, only to be whacked over the head by Genkai. You watch as Genkai explains why Yusuke should have gone after Kuwabara to protect him and quickly chase after him as he runs off to try and do what he didn't think of before. Botan follows as well and you all hurry off, hoping that it wasn't too late.

You use your senses to guide you and follow them while your mind wanders off to see what happening with Kuwabara and the other four. You bite the inside of your lip at the sight of Kuwabara's beaten form in the rain and his three friends in the water creature. "Hurry up you guys or we'll be too late!!" you shout at them with your eyes still closed and speed up as Kuwabara gets pulled into a water creature as well. You continued watching and running around behind Yusuke and Botan when something dawned on you.

'Damn it all! I forgot Kuwabara drags their unconscious bodies to Yusuke's before he passes out. That big softie,' you think with a smile at the memory of his actions and your own ditsy stupidity. "You guys, I found out where he is," you inform the two, making them stop immediately and turn to you.

"Well where the hell is he?!" Yusuke shouts at you.

"Passed out in front of your apartment with four other unconscious boys," you tell him with a smile.

"What?!" Yusuke and Botan shout incredulously before starting back for the apartment. You laugh a little as the sky cleared up before following the two back. When you get there, sure enough, Kuwabara was passed out with three of the others on top of him. You help carry them in and lay Mitarai on Yusuke's bed just as Kurama arrives and helps Genkai tend to his wounds. You chat with Kurama and Yusuke idly as you wait for Mitarai to wake up. Once he does wake up, he spots you three and asks where he is. Yusuke tells him.

"I spent time looking for him and I finally found him in front of my house with four guys on his back," Yusuke points out and jabs back at the unconscious Kuwabara. Mitarai remains silent with a resentful look on his face.

"The three others are safe, They talked about you, then we erased their memories of everything that happened," Kurama continues.

"Now you're going to tell us everything. There's no use lying, Yana is with us," Yusuke grits out as you sit on the floor by Kurama and watch.

"It doesn't matter, we shouldn't have the right to live," Mitarai tells them.

"Who, exactly, doesn't have the right?" you ask him with a raised eyebrow.

"Mankind of course! I'm sure that if you watched that video, you'd agree," Mitarai exclaims angrily at you.

"A video? Which one?" Yusuke asks.

"One called 'The black chapter.' It'll show all the horrible things human beings do," Mitarai informs him.

"Black chapter? That's impossible," Kurama states.

"You know that videotape Kurama?" Yusuke asks him curiously. Kurama explains of the tape and that Hiei wanted it.

"I knew the document existed, but I didn't think it'd have a link to this mission. It's starting to get clearer," Kurama admits.

"You don't know what humans have done! That's why you're still playing heroes! If you could have watched that tape, you'd change your mind! Humans don't deserve to live!" Mitarai bursts out.

"So What?! Is that why humans should end up as meat for monsters and demons?!" Yusuke asks him, getting in his face.

"Yes!…You don't know what you're talking about. You're just lucky to live in a peaceful place, but you don't know the true nature of humans. Did you ever see a line of children waiting to be killed, or the glance of the torturer that's taking delight in looking at his next victim? The sight of a mother whose child is killed right in front of her? Do you understand how someone can like this?! Humans can kill one of their friends and still laugh!! Maybe you don't know it, but I'm sure you can do it too!!" Mitarai replies without hesitation.

'You've never witnessed World War I or II. Hitler's concentration camps are exactly that but worse. Is that all that's on that tape?' you think to yourself.

"Then…You're one of those too?" Yusuke asks.

"Yes. You can do it too," Mitarai answers with his entire body shaking.

"I asked Kuwabara why he saved you. You know what he answered? He told me you looked like someone waiting for help. I laughed when he said that, but…now, by looking at you, I know what he meant," Yusuke tells him and grabs the chair he knocked over. Mitarai looks at him shocked before tearing up as his anger turns to sorrow and guilt.

"When I sleep, I see that tape in my dreams. I start awake and see all those dead people around me, like I was the one who killed them. I feel guilty and ashamed to live. I don't know what to do. I'm getting mad. I would've liked to be told what to do. I'm fed up," Mitarai admits as his walls completely crumble and he grips the sheets tightly and tears fall from his eyes. Your motherly side quickly takes control of you as you stand up and shush the broken teen while rubbing his back soothingly and looking at him gently.

"Yusuke, Ashley, I think we should let him rest. We shouldn't have anything to fear from him anymore," Kurama suggests and Yusuke follows him in agreement. You quickly sooth Mitarai a bit more to comfort him before telling him to rest and following the other two.

"A videotape that would compile all the dreadful things done by humans, sounds scary," Yusuke says to Kurama as you quietly shut the bedroom door.

"I suppose. An average human wouldn't be able to last five minutes, it must have changed his view of the world dramatically," Kurama informs.

"Not me. He just stated things I already knew and saw about humans. Back in America, it was required for us to study history and it included both world wars with videos that are supposed to provide as historical documents to the public. He was only describing the concentration camps created in world war two. The guy that started all of this was screwy. In the end, he killed his male lover and dog while his female lover killed herself willingly along with her child. Not much later, he followed by committing suicide by poisoning himself, shooting himself in the head, then having one of his servants burn him," you put in blankly.

"Stop it, you're both creeping me out," Yusuke complains.

"There's no need, its only one aspect of humans," Kurama explains before going on. He stops when Yusuke gives him a look to make his point and apologizes.

"By the way, I never told you where I was yesterday," Kurama reminds to change the subject a bit.

"True," Yusuke agrees.

"I went to see Koenma," Kurama says simply.

"Koenma? Why didn't you just use the TV instead of going?" Yusuke asks him.

"I thought I knew where you might have gone! I could feel that I knew in the back of my mind but I couldn't recall it," you burst out suddenly as they look at you momentarily.

"I had to see him. I think Koenma knows who the enemy is. After what we just found out, its getting clearer," Kurama elaborates.

"What?" Yusuke questions.

"Yesterday I didn't say anything, but I think it's time to ask Koe-" Kurama starts off but stops when he sees Yusuke already at the TV in the detective suitcase, demanding answers.

"They use that video? I understand now," Koenma mutters to himself.

"What?! You already had suspects?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Yusuke interrogates him.

"We didn't have any proof. In fact, we had troubles admitting it," Koenma tells him.

"Explain," Yusuke demands. Koenma then goes explaining about Sensui and how he was the previous spirit detective with a strong sense of justice and asked if humans had the right to live before disappearing with the tape ten years ago before warning Yusuke and saying he was coming to earth too.

Later that night, Koenma appeared in his teen form and introduced himself to you formally while you did the same with a smile and a respectful bow. Koenma then began explaining of Sensui's past and how he went from protector of the universe to enemy of Reikai and Ningenkai, telling of the mission that changed his whole world.

"What Sensui saw was the exact contrary of his convictions. A place where humans were delighted in torturing demons," Koenma explains.

"Reminds me of the mission at Tarukane's mansion," Kuwabara comments. Yusuke nods in agreement while you looked down at the ground solemnly as images flashed through your mind of that mission along with Sensui's past.

"There's a fundamental difference from you. Sensui killed every last human in that room," Koenma informs and continues explaining Sensui's feelings caused by the mission and his passion for making the video. Once everything was explained, a silence soon followed.

"It makes me wonder how such a spiritually aware and intelligent man can become so affected by something like that. It's as if he was a blind man told of all the beautiful things humans do, only to finally be able to see and find the world a dark, scary, and grotesque place that he wants to destroy," you comment softly while still looking at the floor until suddenly, you turn to look out the window with Kurama and Yusuke to see Sensui, Sniper, and Sekhmet on the roof of the building outside.

Sniper holds up his hand to show five dice with his other hand poised to flick them. You gasp and look in the direction of Yusuke's room as you hear Kuwabara wake up and save Mitarai and Botan.

"Mitarai, I foresaw your failure in my plans. We were controlling all your actions," you hear Sensui state.

"What's he saying?" Yusuke asks aggravated.

"I believe Mitarai was manipulated from the beginning," Kurama explained as you and Genkai agree.

"What?! You can hear what he's saying?" Yusuke asked us.

"Yes," Kurama replied.

"Basically," you put in.

"I can read his lips," Genkai corrects.

"I'm surprised to find that the man we're looking for is on your side. Sad for him, but I feel what his fate will be. The one of a fighter," Sensui says before Yusuke and Kuwabara go after them. You quickly follow upon noticing their departure and chase after the trio.

"Kuwabara you shouldn't have come!" you shout at him and agreeing with Yusuke's reprimand.

"Didn't I tell you guys yet? My powers came back stronger than before. I don't know why, but my sword is a different shape," Kuwabara tell you two as you reach the roadway.

"There they are!" Yusuke exclaims before you could retort.

Sensui looks over at you three calmly, along with Sekhmet, and holds up two fingers. "Two day left until the gate opens," he informs calmly. You look at Sekhmet as she looks directly at you and gives an excited catty grin towards you. You feel your aura start crackling slightly as Sensui talks a bit more before the others show up. Koenma quickly warns Yusuke not to get close to Sensui and tells of his main ability of energy blasts.

"I see. Let's have some fun," Yusuke says and steps forward, ignoring Koenma's cries. Yusuke walks up to Sensui, staying a good distance away, and talks a bit with him before both of their auras surge and Yusuke charges.

"What?! They wanna fight here?! In the middle of town?!" Kuwabara cries.

You watch closely with the others as Yusuke goes to punch Sensui, only to be blocked and hit with Sensui's kick that Yusuke blocks with his left arm. Yusuke quickly recovers and goes to hit him again only for his arm to be pushed away before Sensui kicks him in the side with his left leg, causing him to skid backwards.

"What's he doing?! Fight for real!" Kuwabara shouts.

"He is. He used all of his strength in that last attempt," you tell him without moving your eyes from the scene.

"He's the kind of opponent Yusuke hates. He doesn't hold his attacks. He deflects them without changing his stance and strikes back like that," Kurama elaborates.

"The reshuken," Genkai summarizes.

"Exactly," Sensui confirms.

"A gift," he says and creates a ball of energy about the size of a soccer ball.

"I created my own technique. Here's the Reyko Reshuken," he names and kicks the energy like a pro soccer player. Yusuke exclaims how it's hot and Sensui calls the attack "Reshuu Kokyuha." The energy curve left and hits Yusuke's apartment building, causing an explosion that led to smoke. You look around and find Sekhmet staring upwards while the others exclaim about the attack's course and Botan and Mitarai. Yusuke tells Koenma and Genkai to take care of the two as he charges Sensui. He goes to punch and feints it to use his speed to try, and fail, to catch him off guard and hit him, getting attacked in the side again, destroying his shirt.

Sensui tells Yusuke how pitiful his fighting style is as Kuwabara challenges him and conjures his normal spirit sword. You watch as he tries to cut Sensui, when suddenly you scream in agony and fall to your hands and knees from a sudden pain in your back. It wasn't like when your wings freed themselves, but somehow felt similar, but worse at the same time, and you looked over your shoulder to see Sekhmet holding a bow made out of energy. You look back to see Kurama and the others too occupied with Sensui to notice what happened as you spot Amanuma and Gourmet near in the jeep. You quickly get up to face the smirking cat demon.

"What do you want now feline?!" you shout angrily at her.


	11. poison, games, and beginning of the end

"What do you want now feline?!" you ask the cat demon in front of you.

"I just wanted to make sure you haven't forgotten about me. Take a look at your back. My special poisonous arrow is beginning to take effect," she says and motions to your back. You look behind you and gasp at the sight of your wings out and the feathers starting to molt and turn a sickly brown color. You gasp as an excruciating pain starts to overcome your back and spread slowly from where your wings conjoin.

"What have you done?! Ah!" you scream painfully and hold yourself as you fall back down to your knees.

"Like it? It works best against winged demons. It attacks the most sensitive spot on their bodies, their wings. Your wings will slowly decay painfully unless you find the antidote, then you will be grounded for the rest of what little life you have left!" she informs cruelly with that silky smooth voice of hers before disappearing while laughing.

You look back to just barely catch Sensui neutralize Yusuke's spirit gun with his small energy ball. You quickly get up and rush over to Kurama, through the pain, just as Yusuke takes off on a bike. You hunch over as the pain hits you in another wave, making Kurama look at you in shock and worry.

"Ashley, what happened?! Why are your wings out here of all places?!" Kurama asks and grabs your shoulders to steady you.

"S-Sekhmet…P-Poisoned arrow, a-attacks wings of demons…I-I'll be fine," you hurry out through the pain.

"Can you still fly? We have to get you out of sight of humans. See if you can get to the roof. I'll meet you there with the others…Are you sure you'll be ok?" Kurama asks you. You nod and close your eyes tightly as you try to fly to the roof through the pain.

You successfully make it to the roof and practically collapse onto your stomach as you just lay there while breathing heavily and waiting for the others. They soon arrive on the roof and rush over to you at the sight of you in pain and on the ground. Everywhere around you, you could faintly make out hundreds of your dead feathers covering the ground, having fallen off your wings. After some complaining and reprimanding, you're eventually placed on Kurama's back since your wings make it difficult to carry you like Yusuke had last time you were injured. You discuss plans of action and Mitarai decides to help you all before heading off.

"You guys, Sniper's crept up on Yusuke from behind on a motorcycle and just destroyed the bike he was riding. I think Yusuke's about to take part in one hell of a fight," you inform them weakly.

"What do you mean? How do you know this?" Kurama asks you when everyone stops at your information.

"When Genkai taught me how to find people's locations through their minds recently, I found a way to use that and the ability to read minds to see what's going on with someone after I find them. It doesn't take much of my energy, just c-concentration on at least one specific mind. That part's easier once I get through the pain," you explain and wince in the middle at a surge of pain.

"That's amazing! You don't even have the Jagan eye like Hiei and you've found a way to do that in less than a month!" Koenma exclaims.

"What does it matter if I'm still more of a burden than before-Ah!" you retort when a wave of searing pain courses throughout your entire body even worse than the previous ones.

"Quite complaining and look at what you **can** do child. With this ability, you can link our minds and we can see what the dimwit is doing while we get you safe," Genkai reprimands you.

"F-Fine…Hunh," you comply as you all reach the Kuwabara residence and proceed to show them Yusuke and Sniper's fight until Hiei appears and saves Yusuke's butt while stabbing Sniper and knocking him aside in the process. You relax and release your concentration on keeping the links open with a small, painful laugh. You close your eyes and spike your energy slightly to circulate a healing aura and soothe your painful back.

"It seems Yusuke is in good hands for the time being. Here, I made an antidote. In my earlier days, a companion of mine had wings and was attacked with this very poison. I made the same remedy I made him. It should stop the pain, but it will be a while before your wings are returned to normal. You'll be fine as long as you don't try to fly, it will allow you to hide them though," Kurama informs and hands you a steaming cup of tea. You smile and thank him while taking the cup and guzzling it down quickly, getting by the bad taste.

"Oh, yeah! That feels a ton better!" You exclaim and get up, stretching with a relieved grin on your face before hiding your wings. You concentrate back to what Yusuke and Hiei were doing, not bothering to link the others or let them know and you watch in your mind's eye as they talk before Hiei attacks Yusuke and they fight. You follow the others as you five head out and watch the long fight. When it finished, you were still running with the others and had to bite your bottom lip as Hiei stopped fighting and licked his wounds. You couldn't help smiling though at the adorable sight of Hiei licking his wounds like a little cat. You continued smiling as Yusuke and Hiei chatted and Hiei agrees to help with convincing of the tape and the two stupid demons that crossed them. You release the connection once again as you all meet up with Yana and Kaito and the two approach..

"Ah! Look! Hiei is with him!" Botan shouts, pointing out the two fighters.

"Looks like we're all here together," Genkai comments.

"You decide to join us Hiei?" you ask the fire demon as he approaches.

"Hn. You get through that poison onna?" Hiei retorts as you all head into the forest, you two in back.

"What-How did you know about-?" you ask him shocked.

"I've been watching you onna. I must admit I was curious of what you could possibly do bye tagging along," Hiei admits, looking out into the forest. You grin at him before deciding to tease him a little.

"Aw. Is that your little fire apparition way of saying you cared and worried about me?" you ask him cutely. You laugh a little as he quickly sends you a glare along with a death threat if you asked him anything like that again. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself. I'm like Yusuke that way," you apologize while the grin never leaves your face.

"Hey love birds! Get a move on!" Yusuke shouts to you two.

"Since when were me and flame boy a pair?!" you shout at him as you run to catch up.

All of you then talk about strategies and it's decided that Kurama, Yusuke, and Hiei would go in to face Sensui and the enemies in there. Mitarai would go with to guide them through the cave, and you would go to face off against Sekhmet since she had plans for you anyways. You all head out when Genkai calls for Yusuke.

"Yusuke! Doesn't this situation remind you of something?" Genkai asks.

"Hm? Yeah! The time those three kidnapped me!" Yusuke points out, pointing at Kaito and Yana.

"Don't forget to keep your temper. I'm sure that's what they're aiming at," Genkai warns.

"Don't worry. When we meet next time, I'll give you limbs of that bastard," Yusuke assures her and we all head over to the cave.

Upon arrival, you all head inside with Mitarai leading and Kurama setting his plants until you reach a door that Mitarai doesn't remember. The door was large and made of metal with a capital "G" on the center of it.

"A door. A gate keeper?" Kurama questions and eyes the door.

"No, Itsuki can't move as long as the tunnel isn't open. We're only halfway into the tunnel.

"Wait a sec, this door reminds me of something," Yusuke mutters and inspects the door closer.

"Welcome to Devil City! You are the 8 chosen players! If you wanna keep the peace in your town, you'll have to get rid of the city's master, The game kind Ge-Mao!" a voice announces.

"The game battler!" Kurama identifies.

"Hell yeah! I knew it! It's the intro to 'Game Battler'!" Yusuke exclaims.

"That's right! Master Genkai had me play that game when she tested my concentration and knowledge!" you exclaim and smack your fist in your palm.

"Amanuma! He's the game master!" Mitarai explains.

"Welcome to my territory. I don't know how many of you there are. You must follow my scenario when you're in my territory. That's why there must be eight. It was originally seven, but Cat Leader insisted on a special part being added for the young female fighter," you hear Amanuma greet from inside.

"The game is life sized in his territory. Only the players can enter," Mitarai explains. After some talking, you all head back outside to get Genkai, Yana, and Kaito before finally returning and entering the game with the required players two hours later.

Kurama explains to Yusuke how the game is played as you all find out that five have played the game and three have completed it. Amanuma turns the slot machine to show a game of tennis at level seven.

"I forgot to mention, a little thing different in my version is that you have to finish 4 games instead of 3 before you can face Ge-Mao. Cat Leader wanted to make sure that she got a chance to play too," Amanuma informs, pointing at me. Mitarai steps up to the plate as Amanuma warns that his devils adjust to the level of the game. Amanuma chats with Mitarai a little before he chooses a player and the game begins.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Hiei asks Yusuke. Yusuke tells him yes as they watch Mitarai play and Amanuma continue talking to distract him. Thirty minutes later, Mitarai wins 3 to 1. The game continues as the next one is chosen as battle copter: level 6 and Genkai steps up to the plate, winning easily. Next up is Yana as he copies Kaito and solves the battle block: level 10 easily. The slot machine turns again to land on role-play, level 9.

"That's my cue! RP's are my specialty," you step up grinning before the room changes to a scene with a forest as everyone disappears and you're given a whip.

"A whip?! I haven't physically trained with that! Rei, you take care of this will ya?!" you shout out in complaint of the weapon. You close your eyes and submit to watching from your conscious as Reina takes control, surprisingly turning fully into herself physically instead of just consciously.

"Game start! Find your way through the forest, defeating all opponents you cross and sparing normal animals and humans until you find the golden goblet!" you hear the computerized voice announce. Reina darts off through the forest, keeping her ears and eyes open for any sign of an attack. You guide her through the forest until you find a path near a flowing river. You tell Reina to go upstream, following the dirt path while watching for attacks from the trees, earth, and water until you reached a clearing. Reina nods and starts to run upstream only to be ambushed by about five different creatures with various weapons. Reina takes care of them easily with the whip and her own kunai.

"Hey! Not fair! I never said you could use those!" you hear Amanuma complain.

"That's where you made a mistake, young one. You never specified that we couldn't use our own weapons as well," Reina points out wisely and continues ahead. Some time later, Reina finally gets past the many creatures and saves the hostage NP characters and reaches the clearing you mentioned to see a large hedge maze with the goblet on a platform in the middle.

Reina heads inside and ignores Amanuma's voice as he tries to confuse you and lead you into the many dangerous creatures in the maze. Reina simply uses her plant manipulation to move the hedges once she's directly in front of the goblet. You were really glad that she was a 1 or 2 thousand year old wolf at the moment. She soon reaches the center with the goblet without encountering any other creatures while Amanuma complains that its cheating and Reina counters that it wasn't specified that she couldn't do any of that in the rules.

Reina grabs the goblet and returns control to you as you exit through the holes she created. As soon as you exit the maze completely, a large beast appears in your way, ready to fight. "Damn it all," you mutter and pull out the katana you grabbed from home before you headed for Yusuke's the other night. You quickly put the whip and the large and heavy goblet in your red bag before taking up an offensive stance and attacking the beast. About five minutes later, you stop attacking and breathe heavily while on your knees, along with cuts covering your body. The beast fell into pieces as your last attack sliced it multiple times at a speed it couldn't see thanks to Hiei's and Genkai's training sessions.

"Game over! Winner, Ashley!" the computerized voice announces as the scenery, whip, and goblet disappear back into the room. You sheath the blade and slowly stand up before walking over to the others.

"That was awesome Ashley! We saw it all from the screen! Why didn't you say you could do the same thing as Yanagisawa?!" Yusuke exclaims when you reach them.

"I can't. That was Reina. That was the first time I've ever turned into one of them physically. Usually my body stays the same while their conscious just controls it instead. She was the only one with experience on wielding a whip so I let her take control and guided her through the scenario. It helps having a wolf that's been alive a few centuries," you explain and lean against the wall by Hiei so you could treat your wounds. You merely heal yourself as you watch Kaito go against Amanuma in the quiz before failing after missing three questions. When he comes back to the group, a little thinking makes Kurama come to the conclusion that Amanuma's only stalling so the portal can open. Amanuma confirms this after Kurama explains his theory.

"Damn it! Istuki's growing stronger each second we're here! We probably only have a couple of hours left!" you comment matter-of-factly. That's when you just dawn on something when Keita and Kureno comment about something. "Oh no…that's right…he's gonna-" you mutter and stop yourself from finishing that sentence. Hiei looks at you curiously before he "falls asleep" and you turn your attention back to the slot machine and Kurama solemnly. You watch as the game, "three seven," is chosen and the two walk up to the joysticks.

You pull your legs close to your chest muttering the current players' names as Kurama asks Amanuma a question and has his suspicions confirmed, making his hand clench angrily while trying to keep his face calm. He calmly explains his theory to everyone and you grip your knees tighter as you see and hear the hatred, anger, reluctance and guilt that faintly filled Kurama's voice and actions at what he must do.

"It'll be alright. Just stay calm and don't interfere. Just sit here and remember what happens and focus on trying to find a way to beat Sekhmet," you remind yourself quietly to stay restrained and calm, trying to not cry as you breathe deep, even breaths. You just keep reassuring yourself and keep calm throughout the whole game while the others talk more about Sensui's plan and Kurama messes with Amanuma's head with truths, making him lose concentration. You almost lost control of yourself and came close to crying when you see Amanuma cry and say how he doesn't want to die.

You bury your face in your knees, swiftly grabbing your mp3 and jabbing the ear buds in, turning it on and turning the volume up until you couldn't hear your surroundings anymore than a faint buzz. You breathe deeply and focus on the songs playing, singing them for more concentration, to calm yourself and not fall apart. Soon enough, you hear the computerized voice announce, "Game over! Ge-Mao has lost!" Your head jerks up and your ear buds fall out as you look over at Kurama's solemn figure and Amanuma's dead body by his game console.

You turn off and put away your mp3 before getting up and heading over to Kurama with the others. You go to stand beside him and place a gentle hand on his shoulder to see his cold mask of murderous hatred. You all head further into the cave while the other three head back outside. While continuing for the cavern at the end of the cave, you continuously glance over at Kurama sadly, only being able to guess how he feels.

"What's wrong with you onna?" Hiei asks you without the others overhearing as you two follow in the back.

"It's nothing Hiei. Just a female human emotion that you have no need to concern yourself with. I'll be fine," you brush off and speed up to avoid further questioning from him. You all soon make it to the cavern and see Itsuki standing near a black couch where Sensui and Sekhmet sat watching the Black Chapter video. Yusuke shouts Kuwabara's name as he spots him bound and gagged in the boat by the portal.

"Glad you made it," Sensui greets without looking away from the screen. Sekhmet laughs lightly and stands up from the couch before turning to face you all and smile at you.

"I see you've accepted my invitation, insolent pup," Sekhmet greets with her acidic sweet voice. You merely growl out in response to her nickname, along with Reina, insulted at its implications.

"Pesky little Persian," you growl back in a double voice as Reina and you lose your tolerance of her rapidly.

"It's far stronger than back in the tunnels. A normal human would die from one breathe of pure demon world air," Hiei comments.

"This movie was pretty good, but there's only 30 minutes left. To tell you the truth, the plot's fairly standard. It starts off about love, but then degrades into murder and violence, but the song at the end is very beautiful. It should start playing right as the tunnel opens fully," Sensui informs.

"Huh? Itsuki's standing. Usually he just sits on that boat thing, but he's leaving Kuwabara-kun tied up," Mitarai notices. Itsuki responds to him by stating that his help isn't needed to open the gate anymore. Just then, several demon hands seep though the tunnel, reaching for Kuwabara hungrily at the prospect of human meat. This merely scares Kuwabara half to death. Sensui explains how most of the ones gathered are C class demons while the more intelligent ones are waiting until the tunnel's clear completely and how you all would probably be the only witnesses to the huge event that's to take place in half an hour.

Yusuke tells him to shut up and Sensui replies with sending Gourmet, or Makibara, and agreeing to free Kuwabara if they defeat him. Sensui then remarks on how generous his offer is as Kurama sets up a plan to go along with it until they can find a way to rescue Kuwabara. Makibara then displays his power stolen from Murata, provoking Kurama, and making him step up to the plate. You watch apprehensively as your own anger and hatred boils over at one of the only three characters that pissed you off in the series. Kurama closes off his mind and quickly slices the top part of Makibara's head off a second later, shocking most everyone. You scrunch up your nose disgustedly at the foul stench being given off by none other than Toguro.

"Drop the act, you aren't fooling anyone. Get up, Toguro," Kurama commands venomously. Sensui and Sekhmet merely smirk while you growl even more at the mention of his name. "The foul odor coming from his body could only be you," Kurama explains as the supposed corpse comes to life with laughter in Elder Toguro's annoying voice. The body of Makibara stands up, startling Yusuke and Mitarai, and soon, Toguro's small, shriveled head regurgitates from the bottom half of Makibara's jaw.

"Not too shabby. Your nose has gotten sharper," Toguro compliments as realization comes to mind of the group that Toguro took over Gourmet's mind and ability, explaining of how he came in contact with Sensui.

"When he told me about all the actions of Urameshi, my successor, it sort of felt like…fate. Now I know it was, and it's time to fulfill that fate by turning my plans into reality and kill everyone," Sensui adds in. Kuwabara screams something unintelligible from the boat as Sensui continues, "I gathered like minded companions. Those who could be given abilities by the tunnel's influence."

"It's a good thing they found this guy. I love how brutal his ability is. You remember how he ate me, don't you Mitarai? Too bad he didn't know about me. I'm like a cockroach. He started pacing as he felt himself slipping away. The more I took over, the more his fear turned into madness," Toguro puts in. Soon enough, his stupid talking had your aura slowly releasing itself in rage and annoyance.

"Enough. This ends here, you soulless fuck," Kurama informs coldly, making Toguro laugh and your aura grow.

"Bring it on! I'm way stronger than last time! I can regenerate my body forever and absorb any conceivable power! I'm invincible and I'm taking your pathetic abilities next!" Toguro gloats and Kurama releases the smoke screen. You kneel on the ground and dig your claws into the dirt and rock as you try to calm down with deep even breaths and meditation, having Reina do the same. You couldn't risk letting your anger for Toguro distract you and let it be your downfall against Sekhmet.

As soon as you calmed down completely and your claws turn back into your short, stubby nails, you stand up and watch as Kurama exits the smoke and Toguro's screams can be heard clearly. Yusuke wonders who Toguro is fighting and as soon as he asks that question, the smoke clears to show Toguro trapped in the tree of sins. You smirk almost maliciously as Kurama explains how Toguro would be there for all of eternity because of the tree's method of feeding and Toguro's ability to heal endlessly.

"Serves him right after everything he's done," you state with an evil look in your eyes as you turn to the cat demon, human, and dimensional demon.

"How do you-?" Yusuke starts to ask you but stops as Sekhmet laughs louder.

"Come now pup. Don't tell me he angers you more than I do?" Sekhmet whines playfully.

"To be honest. He does. That bastard has angered, annoyed, and pretty much just pissed me off from the moment I first laid eyes on him in Bone Ulcer with that pig that calls himself a human," you admit monotonously, trying to not give too much away.

"You said you'd release Kuwabara if we beat him, not that your refusal would stop us," Yusuke inform Sensui to return to the current situation.

"Heh, I'll keep my promise. In fact, I already have," Sensui replies and looks back at the empty boat behind him. Yusuke wonders where he is for a second before hearing a muffled cry behind him. Everyone then turns around to see Kuwabara tied up behind them. Kuwabara explains vaguely on how he ended up behind them due to Itsuki's powers just before the shadow of a large face appears beneath all of you. The mouth opens up, causing everyone to fall in, and you curse to yourself for having your wings poisoned. Just as you do so, you get spit up with Yusuke while the others are kept in the alternate dimension. You quickly flip in the air and land on your knees before you ended up on your head like Yusuke.

"I'll see to the others," Itsuki informs and sinks into the floor.

"You take, give back, than take again. What kind of sick yo-yo game is this?" Yusuke growls out at the two remaining.

"Don't worry, your friends are safe. There's a matter you and I need to…discuss," Sensui addresses Yusuke.

"And of course. The matter between us has not been resolved. We will be partaking a separate fight," Sekhmet adds in, addressing me.

"Tell me, Sekhmet, what were your original intensions for involving yourself in this? You already agreed to helping in this before you found interest in me, so why?" you ask her as you slowly access every ability at your disposal so you were able to use each when needed.

"I have no personal ties to Sensui's plans. I was merely bored and this provided entertainment, along with several advantages should it succeed. When the tunnel opens, I will be able to walk freely between each world of existence as I please. There's not much more to it, except that it provides a good onslaught of massacre on the side once the hordes of demons find their way through," Sekhmet explained.

"I suppose that's understandable for a demon of your nature. I myself have similar feelings from time to time, though I never act on them. Shall we begin?" you agree slightly as a pair of brown ears appear with a fluffy tail that swishes from side to side with your wings out as well. Your eyes dart over to Yusuke for a second to see him attack Sensui. When they return to where Sekhmet stood, you find her missing and look around and just barely block her attacking blade with your own katana.


	12. New fighters, killed, then demon world

You swiftly use your free hand to slash at her with your new claws and she jumps back to only get a nick on her cheek. "You're just full of surprises aren't you? Perhaps I should take it up a notch," she comments and wipes the blood off her cheek, licking it off her finger. You disappear from her sight, surprising her, and hit her in the side with a ball of fire, sending her several feet away from your current position.

"Get up hairball! I know you're not done yet!" you demand from her while Sensui and Yusuke stop momentarily from the interruption as Sekhmet had flown between them.

"Heh, heh…Once more, you continue to astound me. Very well then. I'll get serious," Sekhmet says as she stands up to show her singed purple shirt underneath the hooded sweater. She yanks off her headband and shows a slit in her forehead that opens to show a green eye. You scream as the eye uses telekinetic force to shove you away from her and into the cave wall. You curse as you see your glasses broken nearby. You no longer needed them anymore but they were useful for keeping up your act to hide your training.

"Ashley! Get up! Come on, get up!" you hear Kuwabara shout at you.

"Shut up Kuwabara! Let me concentrate on the fight so I don't die! How the hell was I supposed to know she has a fucking jagan eye?!" you shout at Kuwabara as you get up onto your feet.

"I thought you didn't know anything about the jagan eye or even what it was!" you hear faintly while trying to power up and get past the power emitting from the fake eye.

"I see you're familiar with my unique attribute. Nonetheless, even though you know what it is, that doesn't mean you can beat me," Sekhmet points out cockily.

"Like hell I can't!" you shout at her and dash out of sight again. You then come around from behind and try to punch her in her other side, only for her to grab your fist and send you an electric shock coursing through your body as she sends you flying.

You cry in pain as the electricity continues coursing throughout your body while your still injured wings instinctively start flapping to keep you from hitting the ground. You land on your feet and fold your wings back behind your back before creating eight different shadowed forms. Detail soon comes to those eight human looking forms to show all six beings from your own body, each holding a different weapon. They all attack her at once upon your command, Keita and Kureno from the sky with Graystone while Toshi, Shima, and Reina proceed from the ground.

You follow up behind them with your own element covered sword. Sekhmet merely stands there smirking as you all enclosed on her. Keita's fans reach her first and end up being caught and thrown back at Keita, startling her and making it lodge itself in her stomach. She falls to the ground painfully and Kureno reaches Sekhmet next, slashing out at her furiously at harming his twin sister and sister-like host. Sekhmet responds by dodging and blocking his attacks easily before grabbing the hilts of his twin blades and throwing him away from her in the direction of Keita. Toshi and Shima reach her next and go to hit her with their shadow hand scythe and light elemental bat.

"Children?" Sekhmet questions and grabs the two and blasting them away with her electricity as they give off startled and painful meows. Reina goes to attack Sekhmet with her whip and catches her in it, only to be forcefully pulled forwards as Sekhmet yanks on her end of the whip. She then spins Reina around her before launching her away and making her let go of her weapon. You hear Reina scream in pain as her landing causes her leg to snap and break. Sekhmet smirks as she uses the whip against you and disarms you of your only weapon, disposing of the whip and knocking you further away from her. You just continue racing towards her as you call upon your energy sword.

Graystone quickly transforms into his large dragon form and attacks her swiftly with an angry screech. You watch horror struck as Sekhmet strikes Graystone with a blast of energy that goes all the way through his body. "Graystone!!" You and Reina shout out to him as his massive form falls to the ground in a pool of his own blood, just feet away from Sekhmet. You growl as you speed up even more and your energy flares. You quickly slash at Sekhmet with your energy sword and get a good cut on her arm before she disappears and you scream in agony as she forcefully pins you against the cave wall from behind, holding you by the throat.

"Stop!" you both hear and you strain to look over to the cave entrance to see Koenma standing there. You just barely see Kazuya holding Yusuke by the head, previously ready to blast it off with his aura gun.

"This has gone far enough!!" Koenma states towards Sensui who growled out his name. Suddenly, Kazuya tossed Yusuke away and it turned out that Yusuke was going to hit Kazuya point blank with his spirit gun. You both pause and watch the spectacle as Koenma explains to Kazuya his plans to stop him and he goes to use his mafuukan. He fails to do so, however, when Yusuke takes it from him.

"You guys forget about lil old me? I've got a major stake in this too!…Blegh Slobbery! Anyway, I'm ready for the next round," Yusuke exclaims and you and the others manage to give off some pained smiles. You two continue to watch the odd series of events as Yusuke keeps the pacifier away from Koenma and knocks him out so he didn't interfere. He then asks for Minoru to come back out and ends up with Shinobu Sensui instead. You take this distraction and quickly jab Sekhmet in the gut with a ball of rock you formed from the wall.

This causes her to release you and you go to deliver a series of vicious punches one after the other. You're eyes widen when you feel Sensui's sacred energy and Sekhmet takes this moment to deliver a hard punch filled with electricity to your gut, making you fly into the cave wall where it crumbles. You gasp in pain as the electricity coursed through your body and the wind is knocked out of you.

You watch as Yusuke's arm is broken to obtain the mafuukan and he's thrown over by Koenma. You just lay there and breathe heavily as you watch the cave begin to crumble at Sensui's power level and you sweat out from its pressure and your fight. Koenma uses the mafuukan and fails as Sensui breaks free from it thanks to his energy as he releases a large amount and forms a giant hole in the cave ceiling.

You continue watching from where you sat as everything seemed to begin to slow down as Kuwabara broke everyone free from the dimension and Sensui attacked Yusuke. You look out of the corner of your eye and see Sekhmet laughing wickedly as she launched a blast at Yusuke from where she stood, tired of his interference and distractions. 'No! Yusuke's human body won't survive an attack like that! If his human body is destroyed, he can't come back as a demon!' you think and struggle to get up before racing over to Yusuke as Sekhmet launches the attack just as Sensui runs at Yusuke with his own killing blow. You shout out Yusuke's name and make it there just in time to only get hit by Sekhmet's attack instead,, passing through your wing and piercing your heart from behind. You fall slowly, wide-eyed, along with Yusuke as you faintly hear your 'family' shout your name and the yyh gang shout out both yours and Yusuke's names. You hit the ground hard and land with one arm draped over Yusuke's body, just below his chest, and one tear slides down your cheek as your eyes slowly close for the last time. Your wings relax and fall limp as your left one covers your arm and Yusuke's body in a feathery blanket.

"You fool! You've allowed your soul to be overcome by human emotions! Now you've paid for it and didn't even save the boy!" Sekhmet shouts with laughter full in her voice as the others come and Kuwabara checks the pulses of the two corpses after thinking that you were playing dead.

"The movie's over, but I forgot to listen to the music over the credits. It's a very beautiful requiem and would have been perfect for them. Ah well, let's play one last scene. The door has finally been opened, and you will lead me further inside," Sensui says while sitting on the television screen. While this goes on, Hiei spots something glinting faintly as he looks at the dead bodies. He kneels down and picks it up from the small area under your body. He looks in shock at the gem he now held in his hand. He looks at the gem some and notices a small intricate flower shape inside of it as he puts it in his pants pocket before looking over at Sensui and Sekhmet.

"Me? Fat chance!" Kuwabara exclaims and Hiei and Kurama charge up.

"Here's a one way ticket straight to hell, you bastard!" Hiei shouts and launches his black dragon. The three of them follow Sensui and the dragon into the portal and Sekhmet soon jumps through the portal as well, laughing all the way as she revisits her home. Koenma stands up warily and starts to fall back down before Mitarai notices and helps keep him steady.

"So that's why she released us. She knew she was going to die here and wanted to give us the second life we never got. By creating these bodies with her energy and then having our souls inhabit them, she ensured us a physical form for when she dies. That's why she worked so hard to master it all month. She didn't want more lives to die than necessary by Sekhmet's hands," Reina states mournfully as she limps over to where Keita was healing Graystone after tending to her own stomach injury.

"Damn it! Why couldn't we see that before?! We've resided in her body her entire life. We've listened to and seen every thought, emotion and every fucking event that happens to her but we couldn't even see that she planned on freeing us before she died?! Damn it!" Kureno screams as he travels over to his sister after punching the ground fiercely, with Toshi and Shima's gloomy forms. For once, the young cat twins of the mismatched family weren't cheerful. They had no thoughts of mischief going through their minds, and their ears and tails hung limply in sorrow and sadness at the loss of their big sister. The six gathered together as Keita healed their wounds and they all mourned the loss of their family member that brought the dysfunctional family together in the first place. They all cried as Graystone woke up and was informed of their loss by a broken up Reina. He his own coal black eyes grew watery as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, burying his face in her hair as she cried on his shoulder.

"That's odd, their hearts aren't beating, but their souls haven't emerged," Koenma notes upon inspection of the bodies.

"You mean they're not dead?" Mitarai asks. This conversation gains the small group's attention at the mention that neither corpse has a ghost.

"No…They're dead. That's what's odd," Koenma informs.

"Do you think-?" Toshi asks his sister hopefully. None of the others answer as they watch these events unfold. Right then, the spirit defense force appears at the entrance. Captain Ohtake sends out commands to the members and goes to check on Koenma. After Koenma's refusal to depart, he commands for Yusuke and you to be taken out. He soon spots the six demons and commands the remaining troops to capture them.

"What the fuck did we do?! Why are you doing this?!" Kureno exclaims as they are surrounded by the troops and he goes on the defensive with Graystone and Reina while Keita grabs Toshi and Shima and stands in back.

"King Enma ordered us to take out any and all demons that we see in human world. Each of you are such and must be eliminated along with Urameshi Yusuke and Silica Ashley," Ohtake informs.

"Wait, you can't mean that!" Koenma exclaims disbelievingly.

"Ashley's already dead! What do you have to gain by destroying our big sister's body and soul?!" Toshi and Shima scream out with tears as Keita clutches the children closer. It's then explained that you two were demon throwbacks or whatever due to distant descendents from 44, for Yusuke, and 53, for you, generations previous.

"But Ashley is a demon. How is that possible?" Koenma asks.

"It seems that, the same Mazoku that Urameshi is descended from continued Silica's lineage with another demon. Upon the birth of Silica, she was placed in the care of a human female where she had her powers sealed away and was raised as a human. It was believed to last until she'd died but certain events led to her confrontation with the psychic Genkai where it was unsealed a month earlier. These occurrences led to the decision that Silica Ashley must be eliminated along with Urameshi Yusuke," Ohtake informed the astonished prince, demons, dragon, and fallen angels.

He than went and explained Yusuke's occurrence with his demon reawakening, not noticing the fingers twitch on the corpses. Reina heard and saw this slight movement of life and smiled before nudging Graystone and the others and gesturing to the bodies as they twitched again while the Captain continued to talk with Koenma and Mitarai before knocking Mitarai out and zapping Koenma.

"This is treason," Koenma managed to get out as he was dragged over to a boulder.

"It's for your own good sir," Ohtake apologized.

"Captain!" one of the members shouted. Ohtake turned and saw Yusuke's body glowing a red color along with yours as you lifted a foot off the ground and drifted away from each other slightly.

"Damn, that's not spirit energy they're emitting, its demon energy! The awakening has begun! Fire!" Ohtake shouted. The troops assigned to take out you two nodded and fired an onslaught of energy balls too late as Pu came in and covered you two with his wing. The group of six watched apprehensively at what happened as the SDF gradually stopped firing, realizing they were too late to stop the transformation.

"Hey there Pu. I see you've been drinking your milk while I was away," Yusuke greets his spirit beast and you stroke his head gently.

"You know, even though we were dead, we could hear most of what all of you were saying," Yusuke comments as we turn to the frightened SDF members, smirks adorning our faces.

"So we're some type of vicious monster are we?" Yusuke asks as you look at each other.

"And we're, related as well?" you add in, eyebrow raised.

"My teachers always told me I was a demon, I just thought it was a figure of speech. How about you Ashley?" Yusuke remembers.

"Only that I was evil and scary sometimes. I just thought it was Kureno coming out," you shrug off.

"They're demon energy, it's incredible!" some of the lower troops state and start to back away. The ones circling your friends start to break rank and fear for their lives as well, giving your awing friends a good view of you, noticing your body was now void of any animal like appendage.

"We humbly serve you. Please spare us and we'll do whatever you say," some others beg.

"Thanks but we won't need you weaklings. For what we desire, is the destruction of everyone in the world. For we are the mighty Mazoku lords of evil," Yusuke rejects them as you both grin evilly and laugh before Yusuke pulls his goofy dance and you fall to the floor, holding your stomach as you laugh your butt off, losing the evil facade.

"Ashley!" you hear as Toshi, Shima, and everyone races to you and you're tackled back to the ground in their hugs. You hug them back as you laugh and apologize for worrying them.

"What, no hugs for Yusuke?" Yusuke asks with a fake pout as he looks at you all.

"You heard him guys! Go hug your Uncle Yusuke!" you shout to Toshi and Shima who proceed to tackle Yusuke with their hugs. After some reunions and short introductions between you eight, and some arguments between Ohtake and Koenma, you grab Toshi while Keita grabs Shima and you all head through the portal to demon world with Graystone carrying Reina on his back in dragon form.

You all pass through the break in the barrier and soon enough, end up in the air of Demon world. You gasp when you spot the trio of friends more injured than they should be and Sekhmet standing by Sensui on chopping block plateau, her hand smoking slightly probably from attacking the three. The five turn to see all of you.

"Sorry we're late. Traffic was a bitch. But we're back, and ready to finish this!" Yusuke shouts out to Sensui and Sekhmet. You then all land over by the others where Kuwabara freaks out a bit.

"Some friends you are. Hogging the bad guy all to yourselves. I got to say I'm pretty disappointed in you guys," Yusuke scolds as he marches up to them.

"Urameshi?! Ashley?! But, you were both dead! Your hearts stopped, I checked!" he exclaims.

"Yeah. In fact, my ticker's still not ticking. I guess I should be worried," Yusuke informs him. You then begin laughing along with Hiei, Kurama, and the rest of your inhuman family.

"You'll get used to that. You see, a demon's core doesn't beat like the conventional human heart," Youko Kurama explains.

"Demon?!" Kuwabara asks incredulously.

"That's right Kuwabara," Koenma confirms.

"It turns out, I'm a descendent of this Mazoku guy from way back," Yusuke explained.

"Yes, and apparently, the two of us are siblings cause of that. Isn't that right little bro, Yu-chan?" you add in and ruffle Yusuke's hair annoyingly.

"Don't ever do that again!" Yusuke shouts at your laughing form while swatting your hand away.

"Hn. Turns out you're more like the detective than you originally thought onna," Hiei comments.

"You bet ya!" you confirm with a grin. You and Yusuke then ask for the others to stay back and let you two fight them alone where they agree.

"Take them down Yusuke Urameshi, Ashley, but if you fall, know I've got your backs," Hiei states as exhaustion from using two dragons begins to show through.

"Thanks Hiei," Yusuke tells him. You do so as well with a smile at him before walking over to the two enemies with Yusuke.

"Pu, take them to a safe place," Yusuke informs Pu who screeches before taking flight with Koenma, Kuwabara, and Hiei on board. Keita grabs Shima again while Toshi hops on Graystone's back with Reina as they all take flight as well with Kurama using his plant and Kureno flying solo.

"So, you've decided to come back and try again at dying?" Sekhmet taunts arrogantly.

"No. I've decided to come and kick your furry ass stupid feline," you correct her angrily.

"Insolence! You'll learn your place wretch!" she marks.

"Bring it hairball!" you retort and use your hands to motion her to you.

**One more chapter for this segment of Eight Initials. The next one will pertain the three kings saga and end the yyh series along with some little things between the end of the tournament and gathering at Genkai's. Stay tuned for it as new enemies and allies come in and more is revealed in Ashley's journeys! Just as soon as I get the chapters finished and separated ne ways. Ja ne!**


	13. Father, renewed suspiscions, trinkets

Chapter 13

Her energy spikes considerably and you do the same with your own energy as you two attack each other at once. You two continue blowing punch after punch of demon energy relentlessly. Soon enough, Yusuke and Sensui knock off the demon ranks and you two shortly deal with the nuisance demons heading for you two. After getting rid of them, you two quickly resume your fight when you suddenly land a rather strong kick to Sekhmet and make her land all the way in the desert regions. You swiftly head over there and just barely block an attack she made for you after searching a little to find her energy.

"You're going to have to do better than that infant!" Sekhmet informs you before blasting an energy in your side that sends you screaming several feet away. You get up and grab your side a bit in pain before you feel something pulse through your body.

'You don't know how to use your power,' you hear and your eyes widen as you look over to Yusuke to see that his body was transforming too. 'Let me show you!' the voice continues before you suddenly let out a scream along with Yusuke while tornadoes appear and you two painfully transform for the first time into your Mazoku forms.

'Let me out Raizen! You are not to interfere with my fight! I don't care if you **are** my father or not! Let me out!' you order from inside your mind as you watch Raizen attack and practically pulverize Sekhmet. While it was true that she was a little better at trying to keep up than Sensui, she was still getting her butt whooped by your ancestral demon father.

'This is no longer your fight child!' Raizen replied as he aims your final attack at Sekhmet in a large ball of elements.

'The hell it isn't you old bastard!' you correct him as you forcefully take control, but too late. The elemental sphere headed for the already bloody Sekhmet just as you took control of yourself to just watch as it hits dead on and goes kilometers into the forest in the same direction as Yusuke's spirit gun for Sensui. "damn it all you glory hog!" you curse out and run after the damage by your attack to see Sekhmet bloody, burned, soaking wet, and all in all, a filthy mess. You run over to her just as she closes her eyes with a chuckle as she congratulates my win and breathes her final breath.

"You idiot! Get back out here! That was Raizen, not me! God damn it all!" you throw a tantrum before picking up her body and throwing it into the forest in rage. You calmed down as your "family" came towards you and you all headed over to the yyh gang. You idly played with your hair that grew from its mid-back length to about ankle length. You combed your fingers through it as you all walked silently, trying to make it not look as much like it was stuck in a power socket like Yusuke's. When you reached the others, Yusuke was shouting at Sensui's dead body while Hiei was fast asleep on Pu's back and the others watched the spectacle.

"Rei, Kei, could you two put this in a braid or something so its not in the way so much? I wanted longer hair but not this much," you request as you enter the clearing. Kei eagerly steps up before Reina could answer and quickly starts to braid your hair into a tight and neat braid, leaving some to frame your face.

"I'll bust into spirit world and pull you back out myself!" Yusuke shouts at the corpse.

"Leave it Yusuke! They're dead and there's nothing we can do about that. If you're so upset about it then we can spar in a little while. First you probably need to get that hair clipped. I'm sure you're not a very big fan with looking like a troll doll," you tell him as Keita finished your braid and tied it off with a hair band.

"What the hell's wrong with you Urameshi?! You beat him so why do you want him back?!" Kuwabara asked. You merely grumble at being practically ignored by your own brother.

"Because that wasn't me! I mean yeah, the body was mine but it wasn't me. It was someone else using my body. Do you understand?" Yusuke explains.

"Yes of course Yusuke. The same was with me while I faced Sekhmet. I couldn't regain control of my body until he'd already fired the last shot that finished her off. The same was with you I'm sure. Neither of us are time manipulators. And even if we were, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. There's no point in moping over spilt milk," you inform and place a hand on his shoulder. Soon enough, Itsuki appears, explaining Sensui's already limited life, and takes Sensui's body into his dimension and we all head back to the Ningenkai after Yusuke's little freak out about his transformation. You look at yourself to feel your face grow warm at the sight of your shirt completely ruined as tattoos similar to Yusuke's, but more feminine, covered your arms, sides, face, and probably chest though it was hidden by the small piece of cloth that remained to only cover your, now more developed, chest.

You look over where Graystone and Kureno stood and open your mouth to ask something when you felt something placed over your shoulders. You look at the black coat and smile at Graystone, thanking him as you pull it on and cover up. You all soon find yourselves back in the destroyed cavern where the hole was being sealed and grab Mitarai before heading out of the cave.

Once outside, you watched as Keiko ran over to Yusuke and hugged him as a happy reunion occurred. You laugh a bit and stroke Pu some while introductions are made between your family and friends. While doing so, your hand absentmindedly wanders down Pu's soft neck and find Hiei's spiky hair. You blink and look over at the different, but still soft, texture that your hand came across. You feel your face grow warm once again as your hand possesses a mind of it's own and wanders through Hiei's hair, enjoying it's warm and soft feeling while Hiei slept peacefully, unaware of the contact. You quickly jerk your hand away with a gasp as you suddenly come back to your senses when your hand reached the star burst in his hair and that area alone felt cooler than the rest.

"That's where what little of his koorime heritage shows through," you mumble and Pu looks curiously at you before your name is soon called by the others. You look over curiously as everyone motions and calls for you to come over. You smile and run over to them.

"Why are you standing all alone over there? No sister of mine is gonna get away with being a loner," Yusuke scolds.

"Like **you're** one to talk Yusuke. Or did you forget that I'm the older sibling in our human years and when our demon daddy actually implanted our demon DNA? I've never been the younger sibling ever. Younger cousin, yes, little sister, no," You point out, slightly pouting at the fact that you never had a blood related big brother or anything. The others laugh as Kureno starts throwing a fit and whining on whether or not he was your big brother while Yusuke pouts some before laughing at Kureno's behavior.

"I meant blood related Kureno! Not like our related. Chill!" you calm him down without any seriousness in your voice, before heading over to the Kuwabara's house where Yusuke's hair was cut by Kurama and your rags were replaced. Once everything had calmed down and everyone had rested for about a day or so, you all parted ways and you cut through the forest to go home with Kurama. Genkai agreed to house Reina, Toshi, Shima, Keita, Kureno, and Graystone until things were arranged for them, much to Kureno's displeasure, and they all went with her after you promised them you'd visit as often as possible.

"Here. I've heard you've been looking for a place to stay here. The artist was a good friend of mine and gave me that house in his will when he passed away. I've never found a use for it until just a little while ago and probably won't ever find a use for it again. Why don't you take it and see if you can put it to good use," Genkai offers and hands you the keys to the house where she kidnapped Yusuke and introduced Yanagisawa, Kido, and Kaito to everyone.

While walking home you encountered Hiei along the way and a light bulb seemed to go off while the two demons chatted. You quickly dug through your bag, catching their attention, and soon pulled out the videotape Yusuke swiped from the VCR and asked you to give to Hiei.

"Here you go. Yusuke said to give this to you. If you want, you can come over whenever you like and watch it at our house. I've got a VCR and I actually wouldn't mind watching it either," you inform him and hand over the video as you all sit against the base of a tree. Kurama talks a bit more with Hiei before Hiei replies with his monosyllable and tosses the tape up before slicing it. Hiei soon flits away after explaining that his sword slipped and you smile slightly as you two get up and head home.

"Welcome home you two. You're home early. How was that camping trip you went on with your friends?" Shiori greets as you enter the house.

"It was fine mother. We had to cut it short due to some emergencies that came up on the campsite. Don't worry, we're fine, it seems some animal tracks were merely spotted nearby so they took precautions before anyone was harmed," Kurama informs her with his excuse for your absents.

"It was really refreshing though. It's nice to get out and just enjoy the countryside every once in a while. I really liked it when my dad took me out to the dear lease back home so it was nice to do it again," you add in as you play along. Fortunately, Shizuru and Botan had some make-up so the Mazoku markings on your face were covered up while your shirt and jacket covered the ones on your body.

"That's good. I'm glad you're both safe. I was a bit worried something might have happened to one of you while you were away," Shiori admits and hugs us both with that smile of hers, seeming to not notice your hair that had grown a couple feet.

"We're sorry to have worried you Shiori-san," you apologize and return her hug with a smile as well. Kurama apologizes too and you excuse yourselves to put away your things.

"You should tell her Kurama. She'll understand, mothers like her always do. Whether you're Suichi Minamino or Youko Kurama, she'll love you as her son," you tell him softly as he enters your room after dropping his stuff off in his.

"No. I cannot tell her. I don't want to drag her into this. You may be a demon and involved with them, as well as knowing my secret, but it doesn't mean you understand. Just please drop it," Kurama refuses, looking off to the side at the wall.

"I understand a lot more than you think Kurama. I've seen how she looks when you disappear almost every weekend and stay at school late nearly every day, never coming home until it's almost dinnertime. I've seen things you've been blind to, even with your heightened fox spirit senses. She knows you're hiding something from her but doesn't want to drive you away by questioning you about it. She believes and hopes that you'll come to her about it when you're ready. You want to protect her for being the mother you never knew, Kurama? You're hurting her in the process of doing so. You're hurting her more than any other demon ever could," you tell him on the verge of crying.

"How would you know this? You've only been here a month, and most of that time was spent at school and training. You've spent even less time with her than me, yet you claim to know her better than I ever have. You may have eyes that can tell when someone's lying, but your eyes can play tricks on you. You can't trust or correctly interpret everything your eyes see," Kurama interrogates you calmly.

"Do you remember when she saved you from possibly dying six or seven years ago? I'm sure you do if you can easily remember your demon life. She took those scars for you. She would protect you even if it meant giving up her own life to do so. She deserves to know so that she can be aware and prepared to face whatever may attack. Even you' can't keep your guard up all the time or see everything coming," you continue as you get softer and softer. You then add on in a mumble as you look away, "You and Hiei just can't see what you already have. I'm not even sure why you two are my favorites out of the guys."

"What do you mean we're your favorites?" Kurama asks, catching some of the end.

"What?…Y-You heard that?" you ask him as your face pales and blushes at the same time.

"Just the end. What do you mean by, 'I'm not even sure why you two are my favorites out of the guys?'" Kurama continues as his eyes narrow.

"Nothing! Why does it even matter if you're one of my favorites out of all the guys I've met here?" you defend.

"Hm…Why do you have your books pushed up so close to the front? I know the shelves are deeper than that," Kurama asks and walks over to your bookshelf as he speaks more like his old self.

"It just annoys me that's they're so small and you can hardly see them when they're all the way back. That's all. Look, I'm sorry about what I said. It wasn't my place to question or challenge your actions and I shouldn't have said anything," you dismiss and watch nervously as Kurama reaches for a book and tries to spy behind them. 'Shitake. That's got number seven on top. If he sees that, I don't know what'll happen. He'll know I know about all of them and then…Man, I can't have him find out I knew about the chapter black saga and then, he can't know anything that'll happen in the three kings saga! That'll screw up the whole plot! It's already screwed up because I'm here!' you panic inside, wishing slightly that Reina and Graystone were there to help you out. You wait and watch a few minutes nervously as you keep a calm exterior and Kurama eventually replaces the book. You hold in the sigh of relief as he stands back up straight and turns to you smiling.

"I suppose you're right. It is a bit nicer to be able to see that you have something to fill such a massive case. My apologies for seeming so suspicious, but you can never be too careful, right?" Kurama apologizes. You smile and agree as you keep your face relaxed and the facade up.

"Of course. Old habits die hard right? So, was there any specific reason you needed me? Or did you just come here because you wanted to?" you ask to get off the subject.

"I thought you'd like some help with a few of your powers. You're an animal spirit right? I was thinking that I might be able to help you in controlling plants some along with a whip. And maybe even learn something about your friends. Are they the ones that were in your body?" Kurama replies and takes a seat on your bed.

"Thanks a lot. Two teachers would be more help since Reina's never taken on a pupil before. And yeah. All of them have been in my body for a decade, longer for most. I'm glad that they have their own bodies now. They're like my big siblings, though Toshi and Shima are the runts of the litter, and I hated how they seemed so trapped while they were in me. Anyways, fire away with any other questions you have," you inform him with a soft smile of true happiness.

"First off, I'd like to know how you pulled off making their bodies," Kurama starts.

"It wasn't too hard really. Back home I got really into the whole alchemy thing. The only reason no alchemist had ever succeeded in bringing back a human before was because they didn't have the soul or anything. By drawing out the needed materials in my surroundings, I could create and shape the empty shells and all I had to do was force their souls into the bodies with their help since that was all that's left. Now it's as if they were never in my body to begin with other than our memories. Before you ask though, I can't do the same with you because you're only one soul, not multiple souls. It's true you have two different personalities, but that's not the same. You've only created these personalities originally to blend in and adapt with your new life. You are still, and always will be Youko Kurama. The only difference is your new flesh and added personality attributes of Suichi Minamino," you explain and quickly add in the last part at the calculating look in his eyes.

"I see. So, what are they exactly? I understand that Reina's a wolf spirit and Toshi and Shima are cat spirits, but what of the other three? And what are their relations to each other?" Kurama asks after getting his mind back on track.

"You're right, Rei's a wolf and Toshi and Shima are twin cats. Graystone's half dragon and half shape-shifter, while Kureno and Keita are twin fallen angels. As I've just stated, Toshi and Shima are twins while Kureno and Keita are twins as well, Graystone and Reina aren't related to anyone but they're…courting," you confirm. You then continue in a quieter and more solemn voice, "I'm really glad Keita could heal Graystone's wound. Reina's probably the oldest of all of us, possibly around your age, and she's been through too many losses. It would break all of our hearts if Graystone died. I don't think she's ever been close to anyone like she is with him. She told me of her past and up until now, she's relatively kept to herself, wandering around the three worlds and staying isolated to avoid the hurt after her own family and friends died."

"Yes, wolves relatively stay together and rely on the other members of their pack. It must have been hard on her to see them all die and then force herself to stay alone all these years. I'm sure that's why she seems so fond and protective of all of you. It must have pained her to see you die earlier in the cave with Yusuke," Kurama agrees.

"I know but, I just wasn't thinking. I had a feeling that I was going to die anyways when I was fighting Sekhmet but, I didn't expect the transformation and I just wanted all of them to live their lives until it was really time to die. Toshi and Shima didn't even have a life outside of me and I knew that Reina would eventually be able to get through my death if Graystone was there to live it with her. I just…it," you explain as your eyes fill up with tears before they soon spilled over as your voice cracked. You clench your eyes shut and just cry as Kurama pulls you into a warm embrace and shushes you.

Once you were able to stop crying, you opened your eyes and pulled your hands away from your face to see the bed and floor covered with gems. You gasp in surprise and pick up a couple of gems to see that they're a cool crystal violet or blue. Upon closer inspection, you see a small shape in each gem as if blown into them by a professional glass blower. You examine them to see a different shape in them all, a heart in some with other things like tear drops and more intricate shapes like wolf pups, dragons, and a mother carrying a child in others.

"Did…Did I cry these? They look like the tear gem Yukina carries around on her, but…some are purple and they all have shapes inside. What in the world am I?" you mumble as Kurama takes a couple of gems from your hand and examines them as well.

"Indeed. They do look to be tear gems like Yukina's, but an ice apparition, such as herself cry, more, golden colored gems. Perhaps we should confront Koenma about your heritage," Kurama suggests as you begin picking up all of the gems.

"Why? His "daddy dearest" basically saw his disobedience as an act of treason on him and spirit world. Now he's refusing to go back while Enma is deciding his punishment…What about Botan? She can still work there and travel between worlds so maybe she can sneak in to where they keep their records of me and find out what I am," you counter him. He nods in agreement and helps you pick up the gems before placing them in a couple of small pull string pouches that previously held some polished stones you bought at Earth bound back home. He then leaves to go unpack, leaving you to your thoughts.

'I think I'll make some things with these. How about some jewelry for Reina and everyone? I know they'll like that. Now, where's some string and stuff? I need to get started if I'm going to have them finished before everyone's called away for the battles. There's no telling what'll happen to us after that. Especially with the year of training before Raizen's death,' you think and search your room for the needed utensils for making the jewelry.

"Suichi! Ashley! Dinner's ready!" you hear Shiori call from downstairs. You put down the bracelet you were making and wipe your forehead.

"Be there in a sec!" you reply and quickly put the unused gems in the bag along with the unfinished necklace and smile as you admire your handiwork on the three bracelets you did finish. You quickly find a box to put them in and stash everything in your closet with your swords before heading down to the kitchen.

"Sorry about that. I was working on a gift I was making for some friends of mine. It's still a mess so I thought I'd clean it up real quick," you apologize as you take your seat.

"That's nice of you dear. Who's it for? Are you making it for a boy you've found?" Shiori accepts and questions curiously like the mother she is.

"No, nothing like that. Just some friends I've grown to see as siblings. I have some extra materials so I thought I might give you guys one too so I can't tell you what it is," you explain with a small laugh.

"Really?! Can't you give us a hint at least?" Shuuichi asks at the mention of a gift.

"No, Shuuichi. If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" you deny him as you all start eating.

After dinner, you help clean up with Kurama and Shiori and head back upstairs to continue working on your little project. Some time later, after getting two more finished and nearly finishing a third, you hear a knock on your window and look up to see Hiei there. You quickly put your things in the box and get up to open the window for him.

"This is a surprise Hiei. What brings you here?" you greet him as he jumps through the window and sits on it while you go back to your desk.

"Hn," Hiei replies and looks out the window. You look up at him and see that the sun was setting. You look at Hiei and study his face carefully to try to see some emotion showing through.

"Hiei, is something wrong? You don't exactly just come to my room for no reason," you ask him concerned slightly. Hiei glances at you slightly, not turning his head, and silently reaches into his pocket, pulling out something in his fist.

"You dropped this," he states simply and opens his fist to drop a round gem into your outstretched hand. You look at it and your eyes widen slightly to see one of your gems, this one a soft purple color with an intricate lily inside it.

"When did…how-?" you ask him, unable to get the questions out.

"I found it under your corpse before we entered the Makai," Hiei explains and looks back out the window.

"Um…Thanks," you tell him. You blink and open the box, pulling out the unfinished bracelet and carefully looping the gem on it before tying it off. You lift it up to eye level, admiring it and making sure it looked alright. You smile in approval and get back up, walking over to stand near Hiei, making him look at you curiously.

"Here. I was making some for everyone and, since you're already here and I'm finished with it, I figured I could give it to you now. It's a little better than trying to find you later when you could be who knows where," you explain and hold out the bracelet of blue and purple tear gems with a soft smile.

Hiei stares at the bracelet for a small while before blinking and reaching out for it. He takes it and looks at the many gems and their shapes, raising and eyebrow at the ones with dragons you put on, along with the lily, before shoving it in his pocket and looking back outside without a word. Your smile grows some before you go back to your seat and continue working on the gifts in a peaceful silence as Hiei just sat there and gazed out the window until the sun went down.

When nightfall came and the sun was completely out of sight, you yawned a bit and decided to call it a night so you were well rested for school tomorrow. You placed everything in the box and put them away in your closet before washing up a bit and heading for bed. When you looked back at the window, you noticed Hiei still sitting there with the window closed and walked over to him to see him sleeping peacefully. You roll your eyes with a smile as you suppress the urge to giggle and quietly head over to your bed after locking the window for extra precautions, giving him some peace so he can rest.

'Why do these feelings keep reemerging? He already has someone even though he hasn't even met her yet. I'm just setting myself up for a broken heart and a crushed hope for something I know won't happen,' you think to yourself as your smile fades and you drift to sleep…


End file.
